This Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, deepen your understanding of the history of civil rights in America by listening to the voices of people who live it. Below is a collection of StoryCorps conversations in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and stories of those who carry the legacy of the civil rights movement with them.
Dr. King Did His Own Eulogy
Clara Jean Ester, 72, remembers bearing witness to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final speech in 1968, and rushing to his side the next day when he was assassinated.
Read the full transcript here.
Congressman John Lewis remembers how Dr. King’s words inspired him to join the Civil Rights Movement.
Lawrence Cumberbatch tells his son Simeon about what it was like to be present on the podium behind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
Tom Houck shares memories of dropping out of high school in 1965 to fight for civil rights, and becoming Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s personal driver.
In 1963, more than a dozen African American girls, including Carol Barner-Seay, Shirley Reese, Diane Bowens, and Verna Hollis, were arrested for protesting segregation in Americus, Georgia. At StoryCorps, they remember being held in a small makeshift jail for nearly two months.
A More Perfect Union
When Theresa Burroughs came of voting age, she was ready to cast her ballot — but she had a long fight ahead of her. During the Jim Crow era, the board of registrars at Alabama’s Hale County Courthouse prevented African American people from registering to vote. Undeterred, Theresa remembers venturing to the courthouse on the first and third Monday of each month, in pursuit of her right to vote.
Wendell Scott was the first African American person inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. His son, Frank, remembers what it took for his father to cross the finish line at tracks throughout the South.
On January 28, 1986, NASA Challenger mission STS-51-L ended in tragedy when the shuttle exploded after takeoff. On board was physicist Ronald E. McNair, the second African American person to enter space. But first, he was a kid with big dreams in Lake City, South Carolina.
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