Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

King's Legacy Remembered At Memorial()  

At the dedication of the memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington on Sunday, President Obama said the slain civil rights leader made the Union "more perfect."

October 16, 2011 Thousands attended the formal dedication Sunday of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall. It was an emotional day for those, including President Obama, who came to honor the slain civil rights leader. Obama said King's work "is not complete."

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A March For Jobs In Martin Luther King's Name()  

Demonstrators rally under the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.

October 16, 2011 Emerging from the shadow of the Washington Monument, civil rights groups marched to the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on Saturday. The crowd rallied on the eve of the new memorial's dedication, calling for jobs and economic justice.

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King Friend: Democrats Should 'Love Their Enemies'()  

Andrew Young (top right) speaks about the significance of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at the groundbreaking for the memorial in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13, 2006. Also present are other King lieutenants, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson (top center) and Georgia Rep. John Lewis (leaning on shovel).

August 25, 2011 Former Ambassador Andrew Young contends that President Obama is "doing the best he can," but he complains that Democrats "don't understand what's happening economically." He casts the Tea Party as a "vestige" of white segregationist politics and cautions Democrats not to cede the South in 2012.

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Behind King Memorial, One Frat's Long Battle()  

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial opened to the public on Monday. It will be officially dedicated on Sunday.

August 23, 2011 The memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. opens on the National Mall this week after 25 years of planning and a cost of more than $100 million. The men behind the monument discuss how a "far-fetched idea" from some Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity brothers became a "Stone of Hope."

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Off The Ground: Creating The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial()  

The memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King opens on the National Mall this week after 25 years of planning and more than $100 million.

August 22, 2011 The new Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial is scheduled to be dedicated on Aug. 28 — the anniversary of the civil rights leader's "I Have A Dream" speech. The memorial, located on the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., was nearly three decades in the making. Here's a brief look at how the idea for a memorial came to fruition.

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The Two-Way

Martin Luther King Memorial Opens To The Public()  

The statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is seen unveiled from scaffolding during the soft opening of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington on Monday.

August 22, 2011 The 30-foot sculpture of the civil rights leader was a long time in the making. The original idea for the memorial in Washington, D.C., came in 1984.

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'I Have A Dream' Speech Writer Almost Didn't Write It()  

Behind the Dream

January 17, 2011 Clarence Jones helped draft Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech and was a close personal adviser and lawyer to the civil rights leader. But he almost turned down the chance to work with King. He explains what changed his mind in his memoir, Behind the Dream.

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Following The 'Trail' Of King Assassin James Earl Ray()  

James Earl Ray

January 17, 2011 After Martin Luther King Jr. was killed on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tenn., the man who shot him, James Earl Ray, was able to evade the FBI during a two-month-long massive worldwide manhunt. Writer Hampton Sides traces the movements of both King and Ray in his book, Hellhound on His Trail.

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Lost King Speech To Be Heard After 50 Years()  

Martin Luther King, Jr. Poster

January 18, 2010 KMUWMartin Luther King Jr. gave the speech, about the future of integration, in January 1960 at Bethel College in Kansas. On Monday, it will be heard for the first time in half a century. The only known recording of the speech was found recently in Kansas.

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Remembering King And The 'Fierce Urgency Of Now'()  

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

January 17, 2010 Martin Luther King Jr. may be best remembered for his "I Have a Dream" moment, but too often overlooked are his efforts to fight poverty in America. Essayist E. Ethelbert Miller says that this Monday, we should remember King in his full context. His messages are relevant even — or especially — in 2010.

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Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Listen: King's Final Address

Rev. Samuel Billy Kyles, a close friend of the late Martin Luther King, Jr., talks about King's last public address to a crowd in Memphis, Tenn. Hear Kyles and NPR's Susan Stamberg.

Listen: Time Capsule

In November of 1988, a massive aluminum time capsule commemorating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was buried in Washington D.C. Songwriter Dr. Cleve Francis discusses his contribution to the time capsule and the preservation of the spirit of the civil rights era.