martin luther king jr. who we remember today. not only the man heralded for winning the nobel peace prize but the man who felt much of the country turned against him in 1967 in 1968. i want to thank you again for joining us today for this important moment in time, this 50th anniversary. this afternoon, we remember the man who had a faith like none other. who lived for the hope of justice rolling down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. and for whom nonviolence and love were the only option. this afternoon, we reflect on our laws of this -- loss of this humble man who felt compelled to come to memphis to support sanitation workers who were being treated less then men. and we celebrate his legacy by committing to answer the questions that he posed, where do we go from here? let's begin now with this message. >> everybody michelle and i wish we could be with all of you today to celebrate the life of doctor king and the movement of which he was apart. because of him, because of his glorious words

martin luther king. thank you, martin luther king. >> thank you.. king said. it is when folks go into our most difficult schools and say this school deserves as great of a teachers and principals at any anywhere else and tennessee became the first state to have free community college and technical school for everybody in the state. it is when we have folks that say our judicial system is not ome only -- only inequitable, it is not working. and so on behalf of all of that, thank you. we thank the civil rights museum for putting on the celebration today and we look forward to continuing that work. thank you. [ applause ] >> announcer: welcome to the stage alpha phi alpha. >> my brother, our brother, this brother, we remember brother reverend dr. martin luther king jr. i'm darryl lewis, president of alpha phi alpha and alpha delta lambda chapter here in memphis, tennessee. dr. king was and is a brother to all mankind who became a member of our fraternity during his college days at boston college on june 22nd 1952 he truly lived out our motto. first of

kennedy or martin luther king. if kennedy can't be protected, what chance do we have in our lives and how we conduct ourselves from anonymous threats? it's disturbing to think that even the great cannot always protect themselves from the faith and fate that awaits them. we want to believe that there is a predictability. it makes us feel safer, that the universe does have, but it doesn't. i'm not too concerned about the way i write about it i make it clear who he was and what he did. and certainly when you get to the end of the book and the quote at the end you will know before you'll know what i think of martin luther king, and who the real hero is. and who the hero for the future is. it still doctor king, a live or dead, one of the greatest heroes in history. >> why do you think that james earl ray held out to the very end didn't really ever tell his story. why didn't he stay say, this is what i did, he had 30 years, but he denied it to the end. even brought in dexter king and had members of kings family believe i

martin luther king jr.'s speeches and the things he did. and who has control and ownership of that. how does that pay off? i'm not against the king family at all because they suffered the greatest loss of all. but at the same time, we want young schoolchildren to hear the i have a dream speech. we want them to know the contributions of a king. there's a danger in commodified and making a fetish and a material possession out of something that began in deep and profound harbor. that's why some people were pissed that kanye paid $85,000 for the cover of - - the relationship between commodity and conscience. has to be teased out there. i know we are about to go, where is rather edysonbrother e? this is the anniversary.tell us what this anniversary is. >> the anniversary of - - death he used to teach him at rikers. >> the young man, because he couldn't afford bail.got sent to jail at rikers. this young man was his teacher. i just want to take a couple minutes to speak here tonight. come up here so they can see y

martin luther king junior, cut down at the age of just 39. and just a day after he delivered his final and prophetic speech in which he worried about his own survival and that of his movement. >> i've looked over, and i've seen the promise land. i may not get there with you, but i walk to the northern nights that we as a people will get to the promise land. so i'm happy tonight. i'm not worried about anything. i'm not fearing any man. mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord. >> indeed, in the 50 years since his death there has been progress in black america. there is a black middle class and the country has elected its first black president. and then came this anguished reaction on the night of donald trump's election by the renowned political commentator van jones. >> this was a white lash. this was a white lash against a changing country. it was a white lash against a black president, in part. and that's the part where the pain comes. >> dramatic words, indeed. a year before he was killed, martin luther king junior worried t

martin luther king jr. he saw the women and children being washed against the walls with high pressure hoses. police dogs teeth nipping at, stalling at the flesh of black girls and boys and women. he just had enough so he fired off this telegram and he said, were not doing the right thing. you're not using race as a prism through which to see the larger landscape of american life and you don't see the larger issue. it needs to be a moral issue. - - who had met with bobby kennedy in a series of meetings he was having with other black people, said what are you hook up with james baldwin. i met him for breakfast outside of dc and virginia. the plane was delayed and baldwin only had half hour. he said tomorrow i'm going to be integral, one evening a couple of your friends by and let's talk about it. when you're james baldwin, a couple of your friends are harry belafonte, lena horne and the rain hands berry. and a young activist named jerome smith. jerome smith is by lore, legend and literally, along with john t

martin luther king jr. this -- junior. this room was chosen because it was the most insular room in the house, and those phone calls sometimes lasted for hours. so that is the actual phone in which dr. king would receive the president's phone calls that came into this house. things were very volatile. the country was aware of how volatile things were in selma and in the south. so, dr. king and the president kept i don't want to say regular calls, but they did have a direct connection on a semi-frequent basis to discuss what was going on, what would repair the country and exactly what both men needed to keep this country on track and to keep violence down. >> then, we've got to come up with the qualifications of voters. that will answer 70% of your problems. >> that's right. >> if you just clear it out everywhere, make it age and reason-right. no test on what susser said or constitutions, or memorized or anything else. put them in the post office and let the postmaster do it. he stays local and is recommended by congress. i

including martin luther king jr.'s poor people's campaign, his assassination in memphis, black power, and the kerner commission. are guest speaker is kathleen cleaver and historian peniel joseph. cbs anchor walter cronkite on 1968 announcing martin luther king jr. has been shot and killed. spain that evening, dr. martin luther king, the apostle of nonviolence in the civil rights movement has been shot to death in memphis, tennessee. all news bulletin for a well- dressed young white man running from the same. officers chased and fired on a guard rig both of containing two white men. dr. king was on the balcony of the second floor hotel room when according to a companion, a shot was a -- shot from across the street. the bullet exploded in his face. police keeping a close watch over the nobel peace prize winner were on the scene almost immediately. they rushed the 39-year-old [null] leader to a hospital where he died of a bullet when -- bullet wound to the neck. the mayor reinstated the desk to dawn curfew he imposed on

martin luther king jr. as this significant figure, this iconic figure, king is really a political mobilizer and there are a number of different movements. so, there are movements within the movement. so, by 1967, we're seeing black power activists who are talking about community control all across the united states. they're talking about radical, social, political, cultural, self-determination. we've got groups like the student nonviolent coordinating committee, sncc, which professor cleaver was also a part of, who are talking about s.n.i.c., whi professor was also a part of, who are talking about anti-war activism and anti-imperialism. we have the national welfare rights organization that's talking about poverty. in that way, by 1968, king is talking about a poor people's campaign and an antipoverty campaign, at the same time that you've got young black political radicals who are talking about everything from, you know, educational activism and the creation of black student unions, to anti-imperialist stra

became connected to martin luther king jr. around december 7, 1955. i walked with him in many different places around the country. around the southeastern part of the nation especially. and was according to john lewis, the architect of the nonviolent movement. i want to press hard on the soul force, or nonviolent struggle as a way of accomplishing the united states that is true to the beginning theology and philosophy we hold these truths to be self-evident that all are created equal, that all are endowed by the creator with certain rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. as part of the difficulty in politics, the nation, and the advertising industry, today is that great philosophy that launched the 13 colonies into becoming an independent nation staying in the constitution, we the people of the united states of america in order to establish. that is the language that i want to push as being a part of the language of the nonviolent movement. you and i and the whole nation need to hear that if w

martin luther king jr. used so often. he was a photographer here. he worked for "life magazine" at thetime and was embedded in house. he wanted to capture dr. king's emotions as he watched on television president johnson committing to signing the voting rights act. this was the chair dr. king was sitting in, watching that television. president johnson addressed the nation. uncle martin, as i knew him, the world knew him as dr. martin luther king jr., first started coming to this house in the late 1950's early-1960's as a young minister. that's when he met my parents. he was ministering in montgomery, his first church, dexter. and, he would come to selma and selma university which is directly across the street from the house to participate in classes and to give lectures at selma university. so he would come and spend the night here in the early years. during that time, you probably had a 30% african-american population, 70% caucasian population here, and there was some racial tension here. selma was a produ

and i must say that both lyndon johnson and martin luther king jr. were distinctly different individuals but they came together at a critical time in the life of this country. both of these men were committed to a more just and democratic america so they came together to make america stronger and he came back late 1965 to have a weekend with my parents and to discuss a move. he came to ask if they would consider moving from selma to atlanta. and it was so interesting because my parents told him that a pretty much knew what they wanted to tell him as their decision but my parents let him know and they think and for the offer to relocate to atlanta to continue our lives there. but there was so much history here in the south relating to my mother's family, the civil rights movement, my father wanted him to know they would stay here and keep the light shining in this house because one never knows martin, you may need to have another march and we will be right here at the house. the night of august the fourth, 1968 my parents and i were here having dinner

martin luther king. amazing. today have the privilege to introduce our keynote speaker, taylor branch. i hope taylor is here. he was sitting over here. taylor has written many books you probably have read some of them. if not you need to. of course i would be remiss if i didn't call him out being one of our great alumni from university of north carolina. he is a tar heel. taylor is also a morehead scholar. as is barbara. with his many many achievements and awards he has received is the biggest is the pulitzer prize he won and his narrative of history in the civil rights era. it's called america in the king years. so not surprisingly, taylor has a lot to say about dr. martin luther king jr. i however have a few things to say. dr. king's powerful message of fairness and inclusion has always been significantly important in my life. it's led me to be an ardent supporter of our fabulous national civil rights museum here in memphis tennessee. which is run by terry. but throughout my career at federal express which is b

the first thing that i want to get to is first slide right now, that's martin luther king shaking hands with a guy named fred amed evans, leader of nationalists in cleveland in 1968 and he would be the guy involved involved in the shootout 50 years ago, king came to cleveland because cleveland was about to elect first african mayor and the first african american mayor of major city in the united states. the guy between them is fbi informant. part of my researching in getting to the book is finding here in washington the fbi files on fred amed evans which nobody had ever seen before. they were 400 pages, the guy who is the informant there literally is giving hour by hour account leading up to the shootout while he calls fbi agents from the road to say this is what's going on, so it's incredible story, highly nuance and so i think you'll enjoy some of this but also very disturbing story, so first question and this by the way, is a photograph of stokes walking through a place, had riot two years earlier and commemorating the riot, the two guys on each side of them have rifles on their shou

martin luther king jr.espect. and where every person has the opportunity to live up to their god-given potential. and yet, here we are, oh god, 50 years after his apotheosis and the nation seems to have gone backwards. racism racism has again lifted its economic economic injustice still burdens the poor. violence is everywhere. and our leaders still prepare for war. in these challenging and difficult times, we need you, oh god, like never before. let your spirit fall on us. let your spirit fall on this la let let your spirit fall on our leaders and bring them to their senses. in in these days, people are marching and crying out for social change and account people people are disturbed and upset by all they see happening around in in these days, oh god, let the words of your prophet become a reality among us. when he said, let justice roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream. thank you thank you for the life he lived and the legacy he left us. give us the courage to live up to the standard

this is not -- i mean, the fbi was monitoring the tapes on martin luther king, all of that. from leaders up top to the grassroots leaders. there are fbi files you can look and see on them. i have not been able to find an fbi file on a beautician, even though these beauticians were involved in much of the same work, in some cases even more radical work than those who were being surveilled. when they do appear, and for example, bernie rogers who was in the article and we'll talk about that in a moment, her cousin appears in the fbi records, and she's identified in the article arz "some unidentified woman," right snt there are ways that because the beauty shop is viewed as frivolous. they were able to really flourish as political sites because they were perceived as not doing something important. they used that disadvantage to their advantage, right? in the way that churches and other kinds of institutions were on the radar, beauty shops were able to slip under them. they were underestimated and that worked to their advantage. so let's talk about what was actually happening in

we celebrate martin luther king jr.'s birthday, all right? but guess who else's birthday is the same time? robert e. lee. so, the white folks have been celebrating robert e. lee. while you think you're celebrating martin luther king's birthday? uh-huh. that's what i'm talking about. they are actually sending out applications if you want to join the klu klux klan in high school. in churches they pass them out in alabama. that's where i live. that's what i'm talking about. things you have not even seen before. the question is, how do you respond to it is the question. and when you see is it in a larger context of history, it's no mystery. it's when you don't know your history that it becomes a mystery. we've seen this before. now, let's get quickly past that and say, what is the solution? what is our approach? our approach is that we don't have enough active involvement of our young people. remember now we talk about the movement of the '60s. these were young folk. sncc, i was a teenager when i was in sncc. look at the birmingham movement. we c

this is martin luther king, right? we see leaders in the democratic party making statements like if you get a beautician, engaged into your candidates campaign, then you found a gem because they can make all these things happened. these are people who are central to our ideas about the movement but they are talking about women and their talking about activism in ways that really aren't legible to us until we research it and they have been left out and made them marginalized. i want to think about this. the article has a lot of -- the chapter has a lot of evidence of the work that black beauticians were doing and what they were doing and beauty shops. we will talk about some of that. as you have read it, why do you think black beauticians were so effective as activists and grassroots leaders? what was unique about their position and what they had access to that made the kind of activism that we are talk about in a minute possible? >> you talk about a beautician who the police chief comes to her place of work and is tryi

martin luther king jr. planned the campaign to shift the civil rights movement to economic issues, but he was assassinated before it began. next, former staffer to robert f. kennedy, robert edelman and b berna bernard lafayette on the people behind the campaign and how it started. this is an hour. >> so, for our second panel, the architects of the poor people's campaign, it's my pleasure to welcome a dear friend and inspiration, mr. mark steiner. after winning a peabody award and raising the consciousness of audiences for more than 24 years as a talk show host, mark has become one of the most widely recognized and influential media figures in the maryland/d.c. area. he has hosted shows for public radio stations such as wjhu at johns hopkins, wypr, which is maryland's public radio, and weaa at morgan state university, a station that is essential to baltimore as the voice of the community. he is the president and ceo of his own production company, the center for emerging media, which won the peabody award for

we will discuss the national civil rights agenda in 1968 from martin luther king jr.'s assassination to the rising power of the black power movement. watch 1968 america in turmoil, wednesday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span 3, and all nine programs are available on spotify as a podcast or watch anytime at c-span.org on our 1968 page. >>> c-span, where history unfolds daily. in 1979 c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies. and today we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court and public policy events in washington, d.c. and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. >>> this year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1968 poor people's campaign envisioned by martin luther king jr. to shift the focus of the civil rights movement to economic issues. reverend king was assassinated a few weeks before the campaign got under way in washington, d.c. next from the smithsonian national museum of african-american history and culture, a di

martin luther king. he appointed him the national coordinator for the poor people's campaign in 1968. please join me in welcoming our next panel. >> good afternoon. >> good afternoon. >> glad you could all be here with us today. this is an honor for me to have -- to sit on the panel with both of these gentlemen. i thought what we'd do today is take the journey to the past. but bring us up to this moment. because i think part of what's important to me is as we get older, those of us who are getting old their is -- as elders is to think what happened in the '60s but where we are now. what does that reflection mean to us now, where is society in relation since we war the war on poverty is no longer necessary. sorry. bernard, let me start with you. i want to go back a little bit -- to give some root stories from both of you before we move into the rest of our conversation. and taking us back to 1960 to nashville, to you being part of the american baptist college and what happened there with the sit-ins and w

martin luther king jr. and the southern christian leadership conference are investigative communist party links beginning in the late 1950s. here are the things that prompt that. martin luther king jr. gait a speech at a social justice leadership training school accused of being a communist training center. here's a billboard that floated around the south. martin luther king jr. at communist training school. it's not a communist training school. spoiler. this billboard accusation is rooted in an accurate history of the communist party supporting civil rights for african-americans, they did it to further the party's interest and we saw it as a great wedge issue. but this is right on this fear that will be spread that the civil rights movement is in fact a communist front being orchestrated by moscow to create social unrest in the united states. martin luther king jr. sent a thank you letter to an ex-city councilman because that person donated blood to king after he was stabbed in 1958. member of the socialis

you think you are celebrating martin luther king's birthday? they are actually sending out applications for the flex client in high school and churches -- klan in high school and churches. the question is: how do you respond to it? larger it in this context of history, there is no ministry. it is when you do not know your history, it becomes a mystery. we have seen this before. what is our solution? what is our approach? not have enough involvement of young people. of youngwere made people. look at the permitting him birmingham- movement, the call it thank you called it thee youth movement. we have to do is get the young people involved. one of the things you do is legislator pages 12-17. get those young people together to him to elect officials replicate the very state elections that we have. partyat you call a youth and every month, you have a party and bring footer registration forms. forms.r registration monthing a meeting once a and having a party, have you bringgood to eat, a representative and and have them talk about the bills they are

we celebrate martin luther king's birthday. guess who else his birthday is the same time? robert e lee. the white folks are celebrating robert evening. you think you are celebrating martin luther king's birthday. that is what i am talking about. they actually sent out applications if you want to join the ku klux klan in high school. in church if they pass it out in alabama. that is where i live. that is what i am talking about. things that you have not seen before. how do you respond to it is the question and when you see it in the larger context of history, it is no mystery. it is when you don't know your history that it becomes a mystery. we have seen this before. let's get quickly past that and get to salome nation -- slow- motion with our perch. we don't have enough involvement of young people. remember the movement of the 60s? these were young folk. i was a teenager. look at the children's movement. the children and young folk make it happen. they had the support of the adults. the adults make sure they were there for them. we had to get the young people involved. one

martin luther king spoke in one of his famous speeches. it was after john lewis and the marchers had tried to march to montgomery and they got stopped on the bridge, gassed and beaten by alabama state troopers pretty came back and marched again and eventually made it. and the famous speech by king, some notice he said how long? not long. because the arc of the moral universe is long but then towards justice. many of you know those lines but i think of more important lines in the speech. what martin luther king talked about, challenging the vision of this country and what we are beginning to accept as normal. let me read you what king said. march 25, 1965 he said, it's normalcy all over the country which leaves the negro perishing on an island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. it is normalcy all over america that prevents the negro from becoming a registered voter. it is normalcy and no, we will not allow alabama to return to normalcy. in honor of these two elders that i talk to about, going through my communit

king i would ask him if he remembers where dr martin luther king's coeur rating was a most white people at the time of his assassination or how about these approval rating was at the time that he refused to go fight a white man's war in vietnam so it you know this is. this is just one of those. topics of wait for julie to. really read a situation who are on comfortable talking about a system of one percent privacy that benefits them versus. anthony just so you know we have lost our connection with dave we're trying to get him back for now i'd like to continue talking to you you mentioned earlier earlier the cost of the upkeep of this statue a lot of that was actually because it was being vandalized to be fair and so my question is what do you think of the way that this was removed you were saying that putting it in museums would be a better option but people took this into their own hands and actually pulled down the statue you know defacing public property what do you make of that move from them. yes i understand that and you know of course we heard statements from the chaplain

martin luther king. detroit was a center of hope for so many people. hot. all of a sudden this morning, it started raining. then we got the news here. as we were running out of the hotel, one of the people that we were talking to told me, look, he says, nothing matters more at this moment than aretha getting her respect. he felt like, yes, she lasted six decades. but we forget people who have been here for a while. he said he hopes people take a second to listen to all the music that she has had over the years. you think about the fact that not only did she span those six decades, but what she's meant. she was at president obama's inauguration, clinton's inauguration. then being there at the memorial service for dr. king. you understand what this woman and her music has meant to so many people in terms of a generation and standing strong. >> absolutely. ryan, stay with me. people there on the street are probably coming up to you and telling you what aretha meant to them as they get the news. back to you, don lemon. getting that statement from clive dav

martin luther king in montgomery and the bus boycott.bad at it was based at the grassroots level usually eat usually heughn didn't start it, he was a spokesperson brought in to. he was a megaphone for the movement and people would listen to him. but people didn't think beyond 1965 too much to think he became radical. for the economic injustice and poverty and more i start the tha book with a letter from martin luther king where he talks aboum i'm dedicating myself and my life to ending racism, poverty, militarism and the war. so he didn't come upon that and become a radical. he was in the social gospel gosl tradition of the church to think about the least of these the people at the bottom. his father was that way, martin luther king senior thought he was called to serve and he was one of those poor people so one of the things i do in the book w is help people to know if they don't know that martin luther king despite wearing his suitont and having a phd one of the most well-educated people of his generation is administered especially as

martin luther king jr.usic was aretha's activism. >> she did it in a way t yt was quie powerful. look at the afro that she adopted. look at theunapologetic embrace of her own city of detroit which was being spurned because it was a black city. >> reporter: when detroit's mayor declared aretha franklin day in 196, dr. martin luther king jr. wasthere, two years later, actress angela davis was held without bond, aretha franklin was ready to pay for her release, black will beill be free, she said, i know you got to disturb the peace when you can't get no peace. civil rhts icon john lewis remembers her support. out.e did her best to help she just wanted to make the movement a♪uccess. ♪ >> reporter: the voice bookending a turbulent history, singing at the memorial for martin luther king jr.,he funeral for rosa parks. ♪ thank you for her quietnger quiet st ♪ >> reporter: later performing at the inauguration of the first african-american president. >> she wasn't just a singer, she tis an active human being who was

individuals who the fbi deemed to be potential subverse and that and that included most notably martin luther king and the black civil rights movement, it included white socialists, it included puerto rico an nationa -- puerto rican nationalists and white student acts vifts in the 19 >> >> who was behind it? the individuals or government agents? >> it was j. edgar hoover who was the long time director of the fbi for almost 50 years. and who was extraordinarily focused on identifying communist links or communist individuals who were involved in social justice movements and other political movements in the united states. >> any concern from president true man, president eisenhower, kennedy, johnson, that individual rights were being discriminated against or taken away based on these eavesdropping devices? >> that largely wasn't part of the conversation until much later on in the latter part of the '60s. and j. edgar hoover himself by the mid-60s began to see -- began to want to curtail and pull back some of the spying and surveillance activity over concerns like that. >> another term or organiz

martin luther king was not happy about this. this is a short clip.s the day after stoke wins you would think this would be a very happy day for martin luther king. scott king told ebony magazine that this was the greatest snub of his life not to be included in the celebration. >> you can watch us in other programs online at the tv.org. >> the name of the book is and of work. the author is freedom works. are we all done

martin luther king growing up.se friend of her father's, the reverend cl franklin. she sang at martin luther king's funeral, she sg at clinton's inauguration, she sang at obama's inauguration. as a symbol of positive black movement forward, it is immeasurable as well. rajini: i have to ask you, iug tickets to see aretha franklin on a couple of occasions and unfortunately she was too unwell to make the concerts, so i never got to see her live.ly you actuid see her final performance. just tell us what it is like to watch the queen of soul in action. jem: well, she was 75 years old when i saw her. this was at the elto aids foundation gala back in november. very high ilings, booming acoustics. peshe was thin. le were thinking, oh my gosh, is she ok? she nailed it. she wasn't the aretha you hear in the records of the 1960's, obviously -- no one can sing like that in her 70's. but she was great. songs, "i say a little orprayer," "nessun," she nailed it, the pavarotti song she did in the 1990's. i thought i hope that is n

martin luther king jr., and the southern leadership conference, investigated beginning in the late 1950s. there are the things that prompt that. martin luther king jr. gave a speech at a training school accused of being a communist training center. around the south, right, martin luther king at a communist training school, there he is. this accusation is rooted in inaccurate history of the communist party supporting civil rights of african- americans. they did that, of course, in support of the parties interests. they saw that is a great wedge issue. this is a dispute spread by many segregationists, that the civil rights movement is in fact a communist front orchestrated by moscow to create social unrest in the united states. martin luther king jr. sent a thank you letter to nx city councilman who happened to be a member of the communist party at some point, because that person donated blood to king after he was stabbed in 1968. a member of the social workers party offered to join the naacp at its main offi

martin luther king in april of this year.ut those awful events give us ample warning that in a climate of extremism, of disrespect for the law, of contempt for the rights of others, violence may bring down the very best among us. a nation that tolerates violence in any form cannot expect to be able to confine it to just minor outbursts. for this reason, i am appointing, with the recommendation of the leadership of the congress, with whom i have spoken this evening, a commission of most extinguish americans to immediately examine this tragic phenomenon. >> early the next morning, june 6, robert kennedy died. his desk coming just to 4 and half years after the assassination of his mother and only two months after the murder of dr. martin luther king, cast another dark shadow of grief across america. >> during his life he knew far more than his share of personal tragedy. yet, he never abandoned his faith in america. he never lost his confidence in the spiritual strength of ordinary men and women. he believed in the capacity of th

martin luther king junior was there.tivists angela davis was held without bond, aretha franklin was ready to pay for her release. black people will be free she said. i know you got to disturb the peace when you can't get no peace. civil rights icon john lewis remembers her support. >> she did her best to h movement a success. >> her voice book ending a turbulent history singing at the memorial for martin luther king junior. the funeral for rosa parks. >> thank you for how quiet, a quiet strength. >> later first african-american president. >> she wasn't just a singer. she was an active human being who was a participant in the dramas of her time. >> such an incredible legacy. we appreciate you spending part of your evening with us. that is "nightly news" for this friday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. ? the emotional interview about the pressure he )s >>> right now at 6:00, elon mus the emotional interview about the pressure he's under and the $12 billion loss this

martin luther king spoke one of his famous speeches after john lewis had tried to march from selma to montgomery and they got stopped at edmund pettis bridge and were beaten by state troopers. they came back in march began and they eventually made it. he gave his famous speech. how long? not long. the arc of the world universe is long but it tends towards justice. what martin luther king talked about challenging the vision of this country and what we are giving to accept it as normal. let me read you what king said on march 25, 1965 petty said its normalcy all over the country which leaves the knee grow piercing on an island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean. it's normalcy all over america that prevents him from becoming a registered voter in his normalcy and no we will not allow alabama to return to normal. in honor of these two elders going through my committee and seeing the reality that connecting to the people and the struggles and the reality of a woman who never stopped seeing what america could be and should be. i want to tell you right now we know in this room the kind

queen of soul she sang at martin luther king's funeral in one thousand nine hundred sixty eight barack obama's presidential inauguration in two thousand and nine and became the first woman to be inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame and more than anything aretha franklin immense respect as a powerful black artist during america's civil rights period. the title of her nine hundred sixty seven hit a composition by otis redding crowned her legacy from the moment the song hit the airwaves respect. everything franklin's imprint on soul music was enormous for commanding vocals powered the soundtrack of both the civil rights and women's liberation movements half a century ago. the daughter of a mississippi preacher and a mother who sang and played piano a research franklin grew up in detroit singing at her father's church services at an early age she was strongly influenced by the gospel sound. she signed her first recording contract in one nine hundred sixty and enjoyed limited success her breakthrough came when she switched labels several years later she soon earned the title queen of

. >> april 1968, martin luther king had been shot and killed. american cities burned in rage.rnia a 42 year old teacher and plotter of three felt helpless. >> and i remember sitting in suburbia saying is there anything i can do? >> harriet glikman wanted to reach someone with influence. she wrote to dharls shuldz, his peanuts comic strip was read by nearly a hundred million people each week. charlie brown, lucy, linus, they were all white. glikman told shulz he should integrate. >> trevor: okay thark was pretty dope of that lady. (applause). >> trevor: yeah, but at the same time, also kind of a weird reaction to a tragedy. i mean martin luther king is dead, there is cay yos in the street its and her first reaction is maybe charlie brown can help. i wonder if there is some nice suburban lady today going did you know they are putting killeds in cages. we got to get garfield on the kaition. where is he? and the creator of peanuts charles shulz made sure that franklin's arrival was a statement. his first appearance in the comic strip was at a beach swimming with white kids. and th

martin luther king was not happy about this. this is a short clip. this is the day after stoke wins you would think this would be a very happy day for martin luther king. scott king told ebony magazine that this was the greatest snub of his life not to be included in the celebration. >> you can watch us in other programs online at the tv.org. >> the name of the book is and of work. the author is freedom works. are we all done working? >> it is not that we are done working. what we are done with his doing work that we have to do to survive or get by. the role i describe is more and more people get up ecstatic about going to work. work is where they showcase their intelligence and unique skill. this is totally unlike the past. >> what was the past like? go back 150 years ago. when you were born, you knew what your life was going to be. six days a week. dawn to dusk on a farm. it didn't matter if you loved it or hated it. it was about survival. even a rich country like the u.s. was directed towards the creation of food. then these robots came along. tra

she supported martin luther king, but she is all kinds of things. issues in the early days, and throughout her life, really, she's managed to bring all kinds of people into this thing that she does. she sang for three presidents, very different people, she sang for clinton, bush, obama, this is an incredible thing, i don't know any other singer who will be able to achieve half of what she has been able to do. and what do you think will be her abiding legacy going forward? that's easy, just her music. i mean, the music... it speaks for itself. that's the beauty. you never really heard her doing loads and loads of interviews and being in the paper all the time and being in the paper all the time and talk about things. but she let her music do the talking. you know, that's the beauty. and we've got these different ways of getting music now. sojust these different ways of getting music now. so just go and get the music. because it is out there. there is nothing for you to miss in terms of the music. it is all there. to be discovered for the people who h

martin luther had was a groundswell of opinion on his side.y in parts of northern europe. there were a lot of people deeply frustrated with the orthodoxies of the time. where is the groundswell of support that you claim? i think what you need to understand, no movement, including the luther movement, started with a majority of 5 million, 10 million, 20 million. never mind millions. let me... how many people really, really agree with you in the muslim community in britain today but that of 10%. 10%, about a00,000, 500,000 people. why haven't they put their heads above the parapet? the 90% are threatening and intimidating them. the 90% are saying they are heretics. that's the issue here. this is where we get to this long—running confrontation, this ideological—theological war that you seem to have declared upon the muslim establishment both in britain and in the wider world too. if you don't mind me saying, sir, you seem to relish all—out permanent confrontation. i fought during apartheid times. i believe when there is injustice, you need to fig