dr. martin luther king jr. rev. martin luther king jr.: i want to talk with you mainly about our struggle in the united states and, before taking my seat, talk about some of the larger struggles in the whole world and some of the more difficult struggles in places like south africa. but there is a desperate, poignant question on the lips of people all over our country and all over the world. i get it almost everywhere i go and almost every press conference. it is a question of whether we are making any real progress in the struggle to make racial justice a reality in the united states of america. and whenever i seek to answer that question, on the one hand, i seek to avoid an undue pessimism; on the other hand, i seek to avoid a superficial optimism. and i try to incorporate or develop what i consider a realistic position, by admitting on the one hand that we have made many significant strides over the last few years in the struggle for racial justice, but by admitting that before the problem is solved we still have numero

martin luther king, junior. i heard of rosa parks in 1955. the action of rosa parks, the words of leadership of dr. martin luther king, junior, inspired me to find a way to get into it. later, i wrote a letter to dr. martin luther king, junior, in 1957. i told him in this little letter and that i wanted to attend a state-supported college called troy college. and sentwrote me back me a round-trip greyhound bus ticket and wanted me to meet with him. i had been accepted at a little college in nashville, tennessee, american baptist college. dr. king got back in touch with me and said, when your home for spring break, come and see me. 1 in 1958, i ordered the greyhound bus and traveled to montgomery. a young lawyer by the name of frank gray who had been a lawyer for rosa parks and dr. king met me at the first baptist church king.ok me in to see dr. martin luther king, junior, said, we use a boy from troy -- were you the boy from troy? were you john lewis? i said, dr. king, i am john robert lewis, but he still call me the boy from troy. this man is tire inspired me tod in theind a way to get way or find a way

dr. king. today we gather in the white house to honor the memory of a great american hero, the reverend dr. martin luther king junior. on january 15th, 1929, martin luther king junior was born in atlanta, georgia. he would go on to change the course of human history. as a young man dr. king decided to follow the calling of his father and grandfather to become a christian pastor. he would later write that it was quite easy for me to think of a god of love mainly because i grew up in a family where love was central. that is what reverend king preached all of his life, love. love for each other, for neighbors and for our fellow americans. dr. king's faith and his love for humanity led him and so many other heroes to courageously stand up for civil rights of african-americans. through his bravery and sacrifice dr. king opened the eyes and lifted the conscious of our nation. he stirred the hearts of our people to recognize the dignity written in every human soul. today we celebrate dr. king for standing up for the self-evident truth americans hold so dear that no matter what the color of our skin or the place of our birth, we are all created equal by

dr. king. today we gather in the white house to honor the memory of a great american hero, the reverend dr. martin luther king jr on january 15th, 1929, martinr king jr. was born in atlanta, georgia he would go on to change the course of human history. as a young man, dr. king decided to follow the calling of his father and grandfather to become a christian pastor he would later write that it was quite easy for me to think of a god of love, mainly because i grew up in a family where love was central. that is what reverend king preached all of his life, love love for each other, for neighbors, and for our fellow americans. dr. king's faith and his love for humanity led him and so many other heroes to courageously stand up for civil rights of african-americans. through his bravery and sacrifice, dr. king opened the eyes and lifted the conscience of our nation. he stirred the hearts of our people to recognize the dignity written in every human soul. today we celebrate dr. king for standing up for the self evident truth americans hold so dear, that no matter what the color of our skin or the place of our birth, we are all created equal by god th

martin luther king jr. as a teenager. lewis: 15 years old and intent to grade. i heard of rosa parks in 1955. leadership of dr. martin luther king jr. inspired me to find a way. two years later, i wrote a letter to dr. martin luther king jr.. in 1957. i told him in this little letter that i wanted to attend a state supported college called troy state. it did not admit black students. in sydneyrote me back a round-trip greyhound bus ticket. he me to come to montgomery to meet with them. in the meantime, i had been accepted at american baptist college in nashville. the dr. king got back in touch with me. he said when you are home for spring break, come and see me. i traveled from troy to montgomery. a young lawyer named freddie a lawyer forbeen rosa parks and dr. king met me at the first baptist church. -- he took me in to see dr. king and reverend abernathy. you the boyd, "are from troy?" and i said, " dr. king, i am john robert lewis." but he still called me the boy from troy. anyway.red me to get in >> you can watch other lawmakers honor the legacy of martin luther king jr. tomorrow night at 8:00 eastern here on c-s

dr. king. today we gather in the white house to honor the memory of a great american hero, the reverend dr. martin luther king, jr. on january 15th, 1929, martin luther king, jr., was born in atlanta, georgia. he would go on to change the course of human history. as a young man, dr. king decided to follow the calling of his father and grandfather to become a christian pastor. he would later write that it was quite easy for me to think of a god of love, mainly because i grew up in a family where love was central. that is what reverend king preached all of his life, love, love for each other, for neighbors and for our fellow americans. dr. king's faith and his love for humanity led him and so many other heros to courageously stand up for civil rights of african-americans. through his bravery and sacrifice dr. king opened the eyes and lifted the conscience of our nation. he stirred in the hearts of our people to recognize the dignity written in every human soul. today we celebrate dr. king for standing up for the self-evident truth americans hold so dear that no matter what the color of our skin, or the place of our birth, we are all created equa

dr. martin luther king jr., reverend dr. martin luther king jr. my uncle, in a positive way. his money where his mouth is he puts his energy behind it. and, in making america great again, you know, perhaps saying that in haiti, and in africa, you know, africa is a huge continent with many nations. that was no offense to the people. a lot of dignity to the people. but the hell holes in that some of their own leaders in arafrica and haiti have taken advantage of them and the area and done a disservice to the people. and, again, rachel, yes, have a strong america, a compassionate america who can really help nations like haiti and all the african nations, african people are brilliant. haitian people are brilliant, productive and wonderful. and they deserve better. and i believe that president trump, not only understands that, but is making america great again so we can be a big help to clean up some of the hell holes across the world and in our own nation. he is doing a great job with prison reform. and helping those prisoners come back to society to lead productive lives. he said

how cities across the bay area celebrated martin luther king jr, day (pam) and a personal reflection on the legacy of dr. martinjr. as we celebrate his birthday and his activism... now at 9:30 ... people across the country were honoring the late dr. martin luther king junior on this king holiday today.. in our area .. thousands of people traveled to sacramento ... participating in the unity walk -- called the "march for a dream" -- it started outside sacramento city college... and ended just past the capitol building.(grant) thousands joined a march in san antonio, texas... in the city's east side neighborhood... and in georgia - there was a special service held today at at turner chapel a-m-e churh. martin luther king day is always the third monday in january...and this year it fell on dr. king's actual birthday. the civil rights icon would have been 89 years old today.. (pam) a large crowd gathered in san francisco's south of market neighborhood .... for a march honoring the activism of the civil right's legend.(grant) kron4's maureen kelly marched along with those honoring dr king...where lots of people said

(steve) on this martin luther king holiday the daughter of dr. martin luther king speaks in atlanta... while across the country many celebrate with marches and community service. (pam) today, there were two states in the country that stand as outliers. washington correspondent drew petrimoulx reports... alabama and mississippi are the only states which also celebrate confederate general robert e. lee today. at the martin luther king memorial in washington d-c -- people braved a cold snap to snap pictures and admire the statue of the civil rights icon.antonio mackey, mlk memorial visitor from flordia: "i just wanna pay homage to the individual who lost his life for individuals like myself."thomas jones, mlk memorial visitor from virginia: "i think it is a day that symbolizes that people can come together."drew petrimoulx, reporting:"in mississippi and alabama, the mlk holiday also honors confederate general robert e lee the only 2 southern states that still combine the two.arkansas is celebrating king by himself for the first time after the legislature v

dr. martin luther king jr. >> reporter: right after signing a proclamation celebrating dr. martin luther king jr.' legacy, president trump faced a barrage of questions. >> mr. president, did you refer to african nations as [ bleep ]? >> reporter: mr. president, are you a racist? >> reporter: president trump ignored them. the president denies uttering the derogatory language attributed to him in connection with haiti but not in connection with countries in africa. >> he said these hate-filled things and he said them repeatedly. >> reporter: senator dick durbin was the only democrat in that meeting. >> he said, put me down for wanting more europeans to come to this country, why don't we get more people from norway. that's exactly what the president said. >> reporter: senator lindsey graham was there too. >> the president was gracious. >> reporter: initially graham kept quiet about what the president said but now admits he spoke up. the president and all those attending the meeting know what i said and how i feel, he said. >> for him to confront the president as he did, literally sitting n to him, to

martin luther king jr., i heard rosa parks in 1955. the action of rosa parks, the words and leadership of dr. king martin luther king, inspired me to find a way to get in the way. so two years later i wrote a letter to dr. king martin luther king, and 5917, and i told him in this little letter that i wanted to attend a state supported college called dry state. i didn't admit black students, dr. king wrote me back and send me a round-trip greyhound bus ticket and. i voted know come to montgomery and meet with him. was accepted in american baptist college but dr. king got back in touch with me. and said when you're home for spring break, come and see me. so in 1958, bordered the greyhound bus and traveled from troy to montgomery, and a young lawyer by the name of fred gray, who had been a lawyer for rosa parks and for dr. king, met me at the first baptist church and took me in to see dr. ring, and martin luther king jr. said, you the boy from troy? are you john lewis? and i said, dr. king, i am john robert lewis but he still called me the boy from troy. this man inspired me to stand up to find a way to get

dr. martin luther king jr. >> reporter: right after signing a proclamation celebrating dr. martin luther king jr.'s legacy, president trump faced a barrage of questions. >> mr. president, did you refer to african nations as [ bleep ] nations? >> mr. president, are you a racist? mr. president, are you a racist? >> reporter: trump ignored them. the president denies uttering the derogatory language attributed to him in connection to haiti but not in connection with countries in africa. >> he said these hate-filled things, and he said them repeatedly. >> reporter: senator dick durbin was the only democrat in that oval office meeting on immigration. >> he said put me down for wanting more europeans to come to this country. why don't we get more people from norway? that was exactly what the president said. >> reporter: senator lindsey graham was there too. >> the president was very gracious. >> reporter: initially graham kept private about what trump allegedly said behind closed doors but now admits he spoke up. the president and all those attending the meeting know what i said and how i feel, he said.

martin luther king jr.. i heard him through the parks in 1955. the action of rosa parks, the words and leadership of dr. martin luther king jr. inspired get in thea way to way. two years later, i wrote a letter to martin jack -- martin was a king junior. in 1957, and i told him that i wanted to attend a state-supported college, called troy state. it did not admit black students. dr. king wrote me back and sent me a round trip grade bus ticket and invited me to come to mount everett -- montgomery to visit him. in the meantime, i have been accepted at a college in nashville, tennessee. american baptist college. dr. king got back in church with me and said, when you're home for spring break, come and see me. i traveled from troy to montgomery, and a young lawyer by the name of freddie gray met me at the first baptist church. me in to see dr. king. youin luther king jr. said, are the boy from troy? are you john lewis? am johndr. king, i robert lewis. but he still called me the boy from troy. this man inspired me to stand up, to find a way to get in the way. announcer: you can watch the rest of the speech and more

dr. martin luther king jr., we took another look today at his final sunday sermon, words still poignant today. it was dr. martinng jr.'s final sunday sermon. his life taken four days later. but listen to what he said at washington national cathedral 50 years ago. his words poignant then and today. >> it may well be that we will have to repent in this generation. not merely for the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence and indifference of the good people who sit around and say, "wait on time." >> reporter: his was a warning of what can happen because of silence and indifference. across this country today, college students from barry college in rome, georgia, volunteering. in st. petersburg, florida, preparing 10,000 meals. and in oakland, california, and in so many places, signs of new life. of hope. and dr. king in that final sermon. >> however dark it is, however deep the angry feelings are and the violent explosions are, i can still sing, "we shall overcome." we shall overcome because the arc of moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. >> and we t

dr. dr. martin luther king junior through various projects. >> here in philadelphia they'll do that through 3 annual greater philadelphia martin luther king dayf service. trang do is live at girard college that volunteers will take a part in. good morning, trang do. >> this is largest site out of tri-state. 5,000 volunteers. 530 a lot of environmental project this year in addition to that i'm making a mess here. you see the pal lots we wouldfy need a number of dignitaries will be here packing bxs and mayor kenney and governor wolf and senator casey will be here longer this morning. the philadelphia event is largest in the can'ty. i talked to todd bernstein organizer of the event and how and why it's gotten so large. take a listen. >> i think people want to be asked to serve and today really makes sense in a lot of ways because dr. king was a champion of serving people of action and enemy of apathy. every year this has gotten bigger and larger and not only here but across the country and it's important way to get kids involved. i'm showing you muir ral one of many painted every year on this day and these are actually done by school children he

martin luther king jr. weekend. we honor his memory tomorrow. what do you believe that martin luther king would be preaching this sunday if he were still alive? >> if dr. martin luther king jr. were still alive, he would be speaking the idea that we're one people. we're one family. we all live in the same house. not just american house, or the world house. we must learn to live together as brother and sisters. if not, we will perish as fools. >> congressman lewis, thank you for your time this morning. thank you, congressman. >>> want to bring in republican senator david perdue of georgia. also of georgia, like congressman lewis. thank you for joining us this morning. i know you're one of president trump's closest allies in the senate. how do you respond to what we heard from congressman lewis, that he believes president trump is a racist? >> well, of course, i think that's ridiculous. i grew up in the south. i fully understand what that means. the congressman and i disagree on a couple of things. first, i'm from georgia. i've been in the schools he's talking about. he's exactly right that regardless of race, religion, anything, those schools, those ki

dr. king. today we gather in the white house to honor the memory of a great american hero, the reverend dr. martin luther king jr. on january 15th, 1929, martins a young man, dr. king decided to follow the calling of his father, and grandfather, to become a christian pastor. he would later write that it was quite easy for me to think of a god of love, mainly because i grew up in a family where love was central. that is what reverend king preached, all of his life, love. love for each other, for neighbors, and for our fellow americans. dr. king's faith and his love for humanity led him and so many other heroes to courageously stand up for civil rights of african-americans. through his bravery and sacrifice, dr. king opened the eyes and lifted the conscience of our nation. he stirred the hearts of our people to recognize the dignity written in every human soul. today we celebrate dr. king for standing up for the self-evident truth americans hold so dear, that no matter what the color of our skin, our the place of our birth, we are all created equal by god. this april we will mark a half century since reverend king was so cruelly taken from us b

martin luther king jr. federal holiday. tom vacar is in san francisco now where there will be a day of service and a march honoring dr. martin luther king jr.>> the march will culminate here around noon celebrating the life of martin luther king jr. a truly remarkable person who for 13 years fought for civil rights and changed the country. all of those years culminating in his assassination he had a target on his back. it is said he walked amongst us for a short time but his footfalls will be heard for centuries. >> i would say first that president kennedy is friendly.>> dr. martin luther king jr. the legendary activist, humanitarian and leader was born 89 years ago in atlanta in the heart of the segregated south. king became a minister who preached bold resistance to segregation through the use of non-violent civil disobedience inspired by gandhi. in 1955 king led the black boycott of the montgomery alabama bus system, the montgomery marches and most significant non-marches, protests and other actions any or all of which could and many times did lead to arrests and other police harassment for 13 years. >> we will be able to

dr. martin luther king jr. also finding inspiration, you could call it, in the words associated with president trump. ♪ >> reporter: everyone invited to this birthday celebration for dr. martinuther king jr. on what would have been his 89th birthday. on the minds of many on this mlk day, recent comments attributed to president trump disparaging immigrants from africa and ha haiti. >> there have been so many people who have historically not worked together, who have come together because of what's happened in our country. if anything good has come out of this, it's that. dr. king would love the way we're responding. >> reporter: pastor larkins may be right. tickets sold for the annual freedom train ride from san jose to san francisco up 20% this year. in san francisco, acting mayor london breed told the crowd dr. king is smiling in heaven. >> you are dr. king's dream realized. >> reporter: in the audience tonight in berkeley, clinton hadley and his twin girls. >> if we're going to change the world, it starts with us. we're teaching them young. we're teaching them to celebrate in a diverse way. teaching them to enjoy muse and i can one another and harmony and peace and love. ♪

1953, just finishing up seminary in the middle of his doctoral work when he was just martin luther king, not dr. martin luther king. he was still working at boston university. he came to a small church in oklahoma city that was well respected in the civil rights movement, calvary baptist church. in 1952, calvary baptist hosted a conference that had thurgood marshall there as their speaker. in 1953, dr. king was interviewed there to be one of the pastors at calvary baptist church. the elders of the church heard him, read about him, met him, and then turned him down. this is my favorite quote from one of the elders of the church. they said they didn't think he had enough gravy on him yet. he was too young, not experienced enough. that was in 1953. ten years later, he was standing on the mall right down the street, saying i have a dream, leading the entire country. i say that to say sometimes we have this assumption that we're in control. we're not. god's in control. he has a path and a plan that sometimes even when we here know hard things, we find out he has a path that may look different than ours. i w

dr. martin luther king vibes all day. >> i don't think you should be able to draw comparisons to dr. martinuther king if you're wearing no socks, right? i mean he even asked the white house -- the reporters asked the white house today for their response to a candidacy. team trump said, we welcome the challenge whether it be oprah winfrey or anybody else. preferably anybody else. i mean trump's approval rating right now, i don't think he could beat maury povich for president, never mind oprah. but the president was supposed to host his own awards show tonight, the fake news awards that he announced would be presented tonight at 5:00 o'clock. they've been postponed until next wednesday, which is -- you know, postponing his own awards show is an odd and out of character move for a man who consistently delivers his promises in a very timely fashion. but donald trump didn't. i guess it's because he had to be in atlanta tonight for the college football national championship game. the georgia bulldogs are playing the alabama crimson tide. the game is on -- it's about to start right here. trump was

dr king is equality and all right citizenship for the goal of dr martin luther king is to give negro the chance to sit in a segregated rest. man alive four hundred years the goal of dr martin luther king is to get negro to give the people who have. four hundred years but by learning them to sleep and making them forgetting what white men criticize martin because he was trying to we end our verbally though to sit naked to why people are in a restaurant but man says. i mean that's not freedom sitting next to white people is not freedom said what's freedom is black people have in their own self-determination where they can buy their own restaurant and they don't have to worry about whites not serving and then. june eleventh one thousand nine hundred sixty three mocked a major victory for king and his movement president kennedy gave a televised address in which he presented the plight of southern blacks as a moral crisis affecting the whole country but are we to say that the world and much more importantly to each other that this is a land of the free except the negroes that we have no second class citizens except negroes and we have no class or caste system no ghettos no mast

martin luther king day. next. >>> this year marks 50 years since the assassination of dr. martin luther king jr. e reflecting on his legacy and where the dream goes in the next half century. today his youngest daughter bernice king was the speaker in atlanta. members of the trump administration joined martin luther king iii who spoke at the king memorial in washington, d.c. today. after the president spent the weekend telling that public he was not a racist, he spent the day golfing in florida before heading back to washington for a busy week. be sure to follow me on facebook and twitter. that's all for "the lead today." i'm john berman in for jake tapper. time for "the situation room." >>> happening now, breaking news. i am not a racist as his vulgar comments about immigrants and the countries of origin reverberate at home and abroad. president trump insists he is not a racist. he now says the democratic senator misrepresented him. budget stalemate. with days to go before a possible government shutdown, is president trump's rejection of a bipartisan proposal on young immigrant d.r.e.a.m.ers bloc

dr. martin luther king, jr. on the 50th year of his assassination. "early today" starts right now. good monday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. congress may be off this dr. martin luther king, jr. holiday but they have a busy week ahead, facing a possible shutdown the end of the week lawmakers will try to seal the deal on an immigration plan especially concerning daca. the president is casting doubt on a deal, tweeting daca is probably dead because the democrats don't really want it. they just want to take desperately needed money away from our military. nbc's tracie potts is live with more for us in washington. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: phillip, good morning. are they ready to deal? we have a few days left. democrats say yes. republicans say yes. president says yes. they are not on the same page. democrats and republicans have been negotiating. they've got an plan on the table that they say will create a budget, avoid a shutdown, and address daca protection for these young immigrants brought to the u.s. illegally. they say it addresses the president's concerns of what he calls chain migration, and gets rid of the visa lottery. but the president argues

dr. martin luther king day i will actually be the master of ceremonies at the 38th annual martin luther king jr. luncheon. that is taking place at 11:00 at the holiday inn in san jose. a great honor to be a part of a great and long running program. >> that's great. >>> we turn now to continuing coverage of the after matt of montecito's deadly mudslides. the death toll in the disaster rose to 20 over the weekend. searchers found the body of a 30-year-old father on saturday. four people including that father's two-year-old daughter remain missing. but the hope of finding anyone else alive is gone. officials announced the search and rescue effort is now over. also highway 101 remains closed in the area with no estimate of when it will reopen. >>> this morning no word on a possible charges after a weekend brawl caught on can a camera. this happened saturday at an east bay pizza parlor. take a look. now, this was inside joe's incredible pizza in newark. police say a girl was looking for her missing phone, then the fight broke out when she asked people about that phone and if they had seen it. her

dr. martin luther king jr. >> reporter: it was a moment filled with sad irony. the same day the president signed a proclamation honoring dr. martin luther king jr. mr. trump was dodging questions about his own racially slurred rhetoric. the president is moving away regarding comments he made on bipartisan legislation. the president said why are we having all of these people from these shithole countries coming here. later the president saying why do we need more haitians. take them out. mlk's nephew told cnn the president talked to him privately about the controversy. >> president simply said to me that i'm not the guy being described in the media. >> reporter: do you believe him? >> i don't think that president trump is a racist in the traditional sense as we know in this country. i think president trump is racially ignorant. or racially uninformed. but i don't think he's a racist in the traditional sense. >> reporter: the president tried to deny he made the remarks, never saying anything derogatory about haitian, never said take them out. and what was really tough was the outlandish proposal made, a big setback. democratic sena

dr. king. today we gather in the white house to honor the memory of a great american hero, the reverend dr. martin luther king jr. on january 15th, 1929, martin to change the course of human history. as a young man, dr. king decided to follow the calling of husband father or and grandfather to become -- father and grandfather to become a christian pastor. he would later write that it was quite easy for me to think of a god of love mainly because i grew up in a family where love was central. that is what reverend king preached all of his life, love; love for each other, for neighbors and for our fellow americans. dr. king's faith and his love for humanity led him and so many other heroes to courageously stand up for civil rights of african-americans. through his bravery and sacrifice, dr. king opened the eyes and lifted the conscience of our nation. he stirred the hearts of our people to recognize the dignity written in every human soul. today we celebrate dr. king for standing up for the self-evident truths americans hold so dear that no matter what the color of our skin or the place of our birth, we are all created equal by god. this april w