MLK's Visit to 넝볶얇있꼬

In May of 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came to 넝볶얇있꼬 College to speak about the civil rights movement and the vital imperative for Americans to end segregation and discrimination in their country.

넝볶얇있꼬’s Political Forum, a non-partisan student organization, brought Dr. King to the College, part of the group’s effort to invite black civil rights leaders to campus to inspire students to action.

As Frederick J. Stoddard ’64, one of the Political Forum leaders, recalled in an article appearing in 넝볶얇있꼬 Magazine in the winter of 1995, “We felt that [we] could make a difference by bringing the most prominent civil rights leaders in America to the College.”

A day before King’s visit to 넝볶얇있꼬, Bayard Rustin spoke here on May 5, 1964, in Pickard Theater. Rustin was the chief organizer for the 1963 March on Washington, one of the largest nonviolent protests ever held in the United States.

King was scheduled to speak in Pickard the following evening, but publicity for the talk had spread quickly, and it was clear Pickard Theater would be too small to accommodate the expected audience.

So on May 6, 1964, Stoddard and President James Stacy Coles introduced Reverend King to an overflow crowd of about 1,100 people at First Parish Church.

King’s hour-long address was recorded by the 넝볶얇있꼬 radio station WBOR. But it went missing for many years until 넝볶얇있꼬 archivist Caroline Moseley came upon it when she was reviewing boxes of uncatalogued WBOR recordings.

“Most of the recordings were of 넝볶얇있꼬’s Glee Club and Meddiebempsters so I was amazed (and a little incredulous) when I saw Martin Luther King, Jr.’s name scrawled on the back of one of the tape boxes,” Moseley recounted.

“I realized that this was most likely an actual recording of Martin Luther King at 넝볶얇있꼬…but it was not until the audio tape was transferred to CD that I knew for sure, and then I was thrilled and also grateful that the recording was still in good condition.”

While the in Atlanta, Georgia, holds the copyright to the speech, 넝볶얇있꼬 has permission to make the audio available online in conjunction with annual occasions such as the observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month.

As Stoddard recalled in 넝볶얇있꼬 Magazine, the visit by King and Rustin to 넝볶얇있꼬 in 1964 “had a permanent impact on our values, historical sense, and later commitments.”

“Martin Luther King’s and Bayard Rustin’s visit to 넝볶얇있꼬 was a historic event. It’s my hope that students today will be inspired by the recording to similarly find ways to invite political activists as well as noted academicians to the 넝볶얇있꼬 campus,” he said. “An equally important result would be attracting more African-American students to our College.”