Martin Luther King Jr. Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Author Explores Preacher Father’s Silence On Racial Injustice In 1960s Alabama

By NPR News March 8, 2021

Shaking the Gates of Hell: A Search for Family and Truth in the Wake of the Civil Rights Revolution, by John Archibald Deckle Edge

Decades later, Birmingham News Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist John Archibald is trying to do just that. Archibald comes from a long line of Methodist preachers in the South; his father had a pulpit at a critical time and place in American history — 1960s Alabama.Read More

Poetry Challenge: Honor Martin Luther King Jr By Describing How You Dream A World

By NPR News January 18, 2021

Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the crowd at the March On Washington D.C., on Aug. 28, 1963. CREDIT: CNP/Getty Images

As we enter 2021, we can all draw inspiration from both King and Hughes. Morning Edition resident poet Kwame Alexander and host Rachel Martin suggest we write our way out of the unprecedented events of the past year and into a space of possibility.Read More

Thousands Gather For New March On Washington To Demand Police Reform And Racial Equality

By Scott Leadingham August 28, 2020

Human Rights Advocate Martin Luther King III, center at bottom, speaks at the Lincoln Memorial during the "Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks" in Washington, D.C. CREDIT: Jacquelyn Martin/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The "Get Your Knee Off Our Necks" march comes as frustration over police brutality and use of force have sparked national protests following the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd.Read More

Rev. Joseph Lowery, ‘Dean’ Of The Civil Rights Movement, Dies At 98

By NPR News March 28, 2020

The Rev. Joseph Lowery speaks at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., during an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. CREDIT: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Lowery got his start as an activist organizing bus boycotts in 1950s Alabama. He led the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for two decades and prayed at Barack Obama's first inauguration.Read More

For MLK Day, ‘Just Mercy’ Attorney Asks U.S. To Reckon With Its Racist Past And Present

By NPR News January 20, 2020

The Legacy Museum and Memorial are designed to bring visitors "closer to the anguish and the suffering" of the past. CREDIT: Human Pictures

Stevenson built a museum and monument in Alabama dedicated to slavery and its legacy. "We need to create institutions in this country that motivate more people to say 'Never again,' " he says.Read More

Amid Shutdown, Martin Luther King Jr. National Park Reopens For Holiday, Thanks To A Private Grant

By NPR News January 21, 2019

The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta is open for the first time in nearly a month, after a grant from the Delta Air Lines Foundation made up for the lack of federal funds from the partial government shutdown. CREDIT: Jeff Greenberg/UIG via Getty Images

Without money from the Delta Air Lines Foundation, Atlanta's Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park would have been closed for the King holiday, a National Park Service spokesman told NPR.Read More

In Newly Found Audio, A Forgotten Civil Rights Leader Says Coming Out ‘Was An Absolute Necessity’

By NPR News January 7, 2019

American civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, pictured in 1964, as spokesman for the Citywide Committee for Integration, at the organization's headquarters, Silcam Presbyterian Church in New York City. CREDIT: Patrick A. Burns/New York Times Co./Getty Images

Bayard Rustin's legacy as a leading figure in the civil rights movement is little known today, even among many history buffs and within the LGBTQ community. His homosexuality cost him that visibility and was considered by some as a hindrance to the movement's success.Read More

How ‘The Battle Hymn Of The Republic’ Became An Anthem For Every Cause

By NPR News July 4, 2018

Officers of the 5th U.S. Cavalry near Washington, D.C., in 1865. Julia Ward Howe was inspired to write "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" after a visit with Union troops in the thick of the Civil War. CREDIT: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

There's an episode of The Johnny Cash Show from 1969 where the man himself makes a little speech with a pretty big error. "Here's a song that was reportedly sung by both sides in the Civil War," Cash says, guitar in hand, to kick off a performance of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." The real history is clear: Julia Ward Howe wrote the song as a pro-Union, anti-slavery Read More

Despite Swirl Of Conspiracy Theories, Investigators Say The MLK Case Is Closed

By NPR News April 4, 2018

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. stands with other civil rights leaders on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., on April 3, 1968, a day before he was assassinated at approximately the same place. From left are Hosea Williams, Jesse Jackson, King and Ralph Abernathy. CREDIT: CHARLES KELLY

Fifty years after the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., alternate theories about his death continue to flourish. Three men who investigated the crime said they're confident in their conclusions.Read More

The Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike: King’s Last Cause For Economic Justice

By NPR News March 28, 2018

Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking to a mass meeting at the Mason Temple in support of striking sanitation workers. CREDIT: MEMPHIS-PRESS-SCIMITAR

They wanted better working conditions and higher pay, but they needed help strategizing. Martin Luther King Jr. went to Memphis to help.Read More