National Archives Photo: Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking. Photographer: Scherman, Rowland, Produced: August 28, 1963
Honor and Justice
PRESENTS
The Negro and the Constitution
The year was 1944. Seventy-five years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. A fifteen-year-old boy stepped up to the podium of a High School in Atlanta at a public speaking contest. This was Martin Luther King, Jr, the educated son of a well-respected minister and equal rights activist.
The subject of his speech: The Negro and the Constitution.
It was early in the young scholar’s lifelong quest for justice and equality, but even back then he was able to lay out the facts in such a way that people couldn’t help but listen.
King discussed the contradiction of slavery in a country founded on equality. He added that the legislation created following the civil war made every person equal and discrimination illegal, yet there was inequality and segregation everywhere. It is an impressive speech to read, decades later. And no doubt the young King delivered it with the energy and power that he always presented.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. waving to the crowd from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, The New York Public Library Digital Collections, 1963.
Martin Luther King, Jr would become one of the most important people in the civil rights movement of the fifties and sixties. His work led to the Civil Rights Act of 64, the Voting Rights Act of 65, the Civil Rights Act of 68, etc. etc..
We remember Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr as a strong gentleman who did what needed to get done when few others could or would. A real-life American hero who changed the world and made a nation proud.
– – –
Bringing you breaking news and informative media with local, regional, national, and world news coverage. Topics include nature, industry, manufacturing, and all things related to the environment.
Honor and Justice
Matters of charity, courage, duty, honor, justice, loyalty, patriotism, perseverance, sacrifice, and trust.
Photo Credit: National Archives
Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking.
Photographer: Scherman, Rowland, Produced: August 28, 1963
Record Group: 306 Records of the U.S. Information Agency 1900 – 2003
Series: Miscellaneous Subjects, Staff and Stringer Photographs 1961 – 1974
NAID: 542068, Local ID: 306-SSM-4D-107-8, Photographs and other Graphic Materials
Photo Credit: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library.
“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. waving to the crowd from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1963.
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/8606075e-bbc8-02ba-e040-e00a1806379d
