Appreciate the MLK Legacy

I have spent numerous hours on Stanford’s campus and found 50 things to do. Recently I came across the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute in an article by the Mercury News. The nation’s most comprehensive collection of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s writings were entrusted by his widow, Coretta Scott King, in 1985 to Prof. Clayborne Carlson, who is Professor of American History at the university.

Front door of the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute, Stanford.

Sadly the institute, founded in 2005, is underfunded and still housed in its temporary place. Dr. Carlson, the director, will retire this August and so far no replacement to head the institute has been called. 

Why funding of MLK’s heritage is important might be answered by King’s speech “The other America” he gave 1967 at Stanford and, thanks to the Institute, can be watched on YouTube. It still rings true today with America divided in two nations, with different experiences depending on the color of your skin. Amazingly he also talks about the idea of a base income for all people.

Besides its temporary location the center has hosted a remarkable list of guests which includes the Dalai Lama and Jesse Jackson. In early June students came together and founded the #StandWithKing initiative to raise money for the institute. You can sign their petition on change.org or check out the website: bit.ly/StandWithKing  and donate some money to the cause.

Picture of Martin Luther King Jr. at the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute, Stanford.

To learn more about Martin Luther King Jr. the institute put together two online exhibits on the Google Arts & Culture site: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/martin-luther-king-jr-research-education-institute

Would you support the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute?

Resources:

https://thesixfifty.com/watch-martin-luther-king-jr-s-speech-at-stanford-university-about-the-other-america-523e7e05df7