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King's Last March

Series: American RadioWorks: Black History
From: American Public Media
Length: 00:59:59

Although it was one of the most challenging and controversial chapters of his career, the final year of King's life has not been the focus of significant public attention. This dramatic and illuminating documentary uses a rich mix of archival tape, oral histories and contemporary interviews to paint a vivid picture of what may have been the most difficult year of Dr. King's life. Read the full description.
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Piece Description

On April 4th, 1967 Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a landmark speech from the pulpit of Riverside Church in New York. He called for an end to the Vietnam War. Exactly one year later, King was assassinated in Memphis. He was 39 years old. King’s speech in New York set the tone for the last year of his life. Inside the church, he was hailed for his brave, outspoken stance against the war. Outside the church, he was roundly condemned – by the mainstream press, by other civil rights activists and, most decidedly, by President Lyndon Johnson.

This documentary will trace the final year of King’s life. It was one of the most challenging and controversial chapters of the civil rights leader’s career, yet it has not been the focus of significant public attention. For many, the image of King is of a social and political leader at the height of his powers – especially the period up through 1965.But that's not the way he was viewed in the last year of his life.

This program illuminates the profound personal, psychological and philosophical challenges King faced in his last year. In this time, King tried to gain support for his Poor People’s Campaign, fended off fierce critics inside and outside the civil rights movement, and endured an increasing sense of despair and isolation. King's Last March offers listeners a complex view of a man trying to push his philosophy of non-violence to a conclusion many people found more threatening than the dream he described on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial five years before his death.

Broadcast History

Originally released in March, 2008.

Transcript

Stephen Smith: From American Public Media, this is an American RadioWorks documentary.

Martin Luther King Jr.: I talked in Washington in 1963 about my dream, and we stood there in those high moments with high hopes, and over and over again, I've seen this dream turn into a nightmare!

Four decades after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, he remains one of the most vivid symbols of hope for racial unity in America. But that's not the way he was viewed the last year of his life.

Reporter: He has deserted the march. Martin Luther King has left the march.

I'm Stephen Smith. Over the coming hour, King's Last March, produced in cooperation with the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. First, this news.

This is Riverside Church in New York City. It's a classic, Gothic cathedral, with light spilling down from stained glass windows and...
Read the full transcript

Timing and Cues

00:00 - 01:00 (0:59 + :01 silence) Billboard
Outcue = "first, this news."

01:00 - 06:00 (5:00) NPR News hole, Music Bed.

06:00 – 33:16 (27:16) Part 1
Outcue = "American Public Media."

33:16 – 34:16 (0:59 + :01 silence) Music Bed.

34:16 - 59:00 (24:44) Part 2
Outcue = "American Public Media."

59:00 - 60:00 (1:00) silence rolling on tape.

Additional Credits

Produced in cooperation with the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University.

Special thanks: Clayborne Carson; University of Memphis Libraries Special Collections; Wisconsin Historical Society; Nick Kotz.

Related Website

http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/king/