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 klan 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 murder 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