Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Library Resources on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1983 Coretta Scott King stood with Senator Ted Kennedy as he announced Congress had passed a bill establishing a national holiday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Mrs. King stood beside President Reagan as he signed the bill into law.

This documentary traces the life of Dr. Martin Luther King and the development of his non-violent philosophies over the course of the historic Civil Rights Movement. A political and social context drapes across the story of the African-American plight, determined to find an identity through the war at home and abroad.

From award-winning director/producer Peter Kunhardt, King in the Wilderness follows Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the volatile last three years of his life, from the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to his assassination in April 1968. Drawing on revelatory stories from his inner circle of friends, the film provides a clear window into the civil rights leader’s character, showing him to be a man with an unshakeable commitment to peaceful protest in the face of an increasingly unstable country. Illuminating and poignant, the documentary – which is tied to the 50th anniversary of King’s death – reveals a conflicted leader whose successes were punctuated in his final years by an onslaught of criticism from both sides of the political spectrum, whether the Black Power movement, who saw his nonviolence as weakness, or President Lyndon B. Johnson, who viewed his anti-Vietnam War speeches as irresponsible. With compassion and clarity, King in the Wilderness unearths a stirring new perspective into Dr. King’s character, his radical doctrine of nonviolence, and his internal philosophical struggles prior to his death, inviting a sense of penetrating intimacy and insight into one of the most profound thinkers of our time.

On April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "Mountaintop" speech to 3,000 sanitation workers at the Mason Temple. He ends his speech with "Mine eyes have seen the coming of the glory of the Lord."

The national press covered the arrest of black leaders and MLK Jr. who urged non-violence and passive resistance. As the boycott continued, white women offered rides to their maids.

Dr. King reads his speech as images of an unsettled American nation are displayed. On April 4, 1968 Dr. King was shot dead at 39. Over 200,000 Americans followed behind a mule-drawn carriage carrying his casket.