Springfield College's Prof. Martin Dobrow on Mlk - Connecting point - Jan. 20, 2014

Martin Luther King junior visited Springfield College and gave the commencement speech in 1964 exactly fifty years ago this year well as I get ready to celebrate doctor king's birthday we at Springfield College professor Marando row here to talk about his legacy and connection to the Springfield area thank you so much for passage for joining me thanks so much for having me today so let's talk about doctor martin luther king he's coming to Springfield College to give the commencement speech fifty years ago something almost stopped them yelling get here and also that happen has a remarkable local story in a little-known on global story they were sorta to times two waves in which doctor king almost did not make it to sprinkle college he was approached initially in March of 1964 by former Springfield College president Glenn olds and agreed to come I but in the interim I the FBI was trying to influence stop to roll to un invite Martin Luther King and they enlisted the help the US Senator Leverett Saltonstall who spoke to old based on some wiretapped information about doctor king and there was some pretty heavy-handed pressure put on the Springfield College president essential to rescind this invitation this is all um easily documented in FBI files that have been declassified they're still somewhat redacted but still quite evident that this happened was a real sort of moment of truth for this president Glenn olds very difficult but it did move hitting on invitame he did not on and I don't you know I think that was a a lot of pressure was a difficult decision I I think he paused for a while with that a lot of times great leaders do cause I you know I think Lincoln took a long time before coming to the emancipation proclamation JFK before coming around to civil rights took some time even Martin Luther King I was a little slow to take on the leadership in Montgomery at the beginning the civil rights movement but Glenn olds stood tall did the right thing and the decision was made in mid-april to go through with this invitation said the commencement was set for june fourteenth 1964 alright you think everything's all set everything's fine but that almost still didn't happen because couple days before the commencement speech absolutely so what happened is that the commencement was set for june fourteenth 1964 on June 11th 1964 doctor king was arrested in Saint Augustine Florida for ordering food from a whites-only establishment he was in jail the 11th the twelfth and 13 the commencement is just on the 14th so it was touch and go for quite a while as to whether or not doctor king would make it and this serb opens up to a fascinating and I think much overlooked part the civil rights movement in San Augustine Florida many people who are conversant with civil rights are very familiar with certainly the Montgomery Bus Boycott they're familiar with the the dogs in a fire hoses in Birmingham they're familiar with body party Sunday in Selma but the movement in San Augustine i think is largely been overlooked and it was a fascinating fascinating time that brought together King in the *** brought together a number of students some from this area as part of a student protest I Jackie Robinson went down there so the real fascinating coalition of american history that ultimately you know spilled onto our campus at Springfield College so he is release from jail the day before he gives the commencement speech comes up to Springfield College give the commencement speech where some other things that kinda stakeouts you when you read are when you learn about the commencement speech at the gate at Springfield College well it's I think it's a wonderful speech i mean doctor king obviously was I think the great public speaker love you know perhaps American history I you know I find myself to this day listening with great interest in being so moved by the speeches of doctor king had this incredible fokker give ability in this wonderful resident baritone voice that just went right to the heart and he gave many many speeches I and you know they're certainly echoes love other famous speeches in his sprinkle college commencement address one of the things I found most interesting about it is that it began to speak more to non-violence in terms of the peace movement I his very much associated I think in the public mind with the civil rights movement but in his later years he was assassinated in 1968 later years he became in ardent opponent the Vietnam War and you see some seeds have that in a speech at Springfield College you're writing a book about its doctor king indeed I am I yeah it's a it's a book that traces the 10-month and five day period between the march on Washington in August 1963 and the signing love the Civil Rights Act on July 2nd 1964 and that's a tour to signpost moments love great optimism in American history but they encompass a lot of darkness no in between their there was the bombing up the birmingham church that killed four school girls in September 1963 there is obviously the assassination of President Kennedy November 63 there was the disappearance and *** up three civil rights workers in mississippi in June of 64 so they're were a lot of dark things that happened in there and that some sort of tracing that time period and largely through local angle you know so the Springfield College commencement story which i think is a fascinating one is is one of the central stories but their number number of other local angle threatening her quite interesting and if somebody wants to get a taste says what doctor martin luther king was before your book comes out you're gonna be holding an event Wednesday yes on Wednesday night over at Springfield College informer Art Center at seven o'clock I am going to be giving a multimedia presentation about the fiftieth anniversary of the speech in a the circumstances surrounding it public it's quite welcome great thank you so much for Intergraph thank you so much for your time thank you