Atlanta History Center - "I Have a Dream Exhibition"
"Without justice, there can be no peace. He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. " -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Stride Towards Freedom
It was a cool and beautiful Monday morning when I joined the long line for the opening of the I have a Dream Exhibition of the personal papers of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.at the Atlanta History Center. It was also my lucky day--on this the first day of the exhibition admission was free.
This important exhibition includes more than 600 pieces from the 10,000 piece collection which was acquired recently by the city of Atlanta for $32 million, under the guidance of Mayor Shirley Franklin, for King's alma mater, Morehouse College. The remainder of the collection is housed at the Robert W. Woodruff Library, which is jointly owned by Morehouse and the member institutions of the Atlanta University Center.
Highlights of the exhibition include drafts of King's famous "I Have A Dream" speech, his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, sermons from his ministry, personal notes he maintained in hundreds of his books, and his celebrated "Letter from Birmingham Jail."
King had an extensive collection of books and other writings by Mahatma Ghandi that influenced his adoption of the philosophy of non-violence, several were on display. He was impressed by the concept of satyagraha, which means truth-force or love-force and came to realize that "the Christian doctrine of love operating through the Gandhian method of nonviolence was one of the most potent weapons available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom.” (1)
Included in the display are such interesting artifacts as an invitation from Robert Kennedy to the state funeral of his brother, President John F. Kennedy, and an invitation from President Lyndon Johnson to witness the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.
Viewing this exhibition, especially on the national holiday in observance of his 78th birthday, provides a greater understanding of the “timeless values King taught the world -- the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility, and service that so radiantly defined Dr. King's character.”
(1) King Jr., Martin Luther, "Pilgrimage to Nonviolence.” The Christian Century 77 (13 April 1960), pp. 439-41.
