While Stephen Tull was sorting through his father’s belongings, he came upon an old tape marked “Dr. King Interview” and dated from 1960—3 years before Dr. King delivered one of the most important speeches in American history, “I Have a Dream”.
The Associated Press and Yahoo! revealed details about the unusual recording, including Dr. King talking extensively about his trip to Africa, details of which had not previously been on record as well as insights about nonviolence and the civil rights movement:
Tull said his father, an insurance salesman, had planned to write a book about the racism he encountered growing up in Chattanooga and later as an adult. He said his dad interviewed King when he visited the city, but never completed the book and just stored the recording with some other interviews he had done. Tull’s father is now in his early 80s and under hospice care.
During part of the interview, King defines nonviolence and justifies its practice.
“I would … say that it is a method which seeks to secure a moral end through moral means,” he said. “And it grows out of the whole concept of love, because if one is truly nonviolent that person has a loving spirit, he refuses to inflict injury upon the opponent because he loves the opponent.”
In these political times, there is no voice more necessary than that of Dr. King.
What does Dr. King’s legacy mean to you? How can we best keep Dr. King’s legacy alive for our children and their children?
To read more about the lost Dr. Martin Luther King Jr tapes, visit Yahoo!
Watch Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech below.
Photo: AP