Speaker 1: Right now it is time for the way Black History
Speaker 1: Fact and today's Wade Black History Fact is sponsored by
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Speaker 1: And today I'm going to be sharing from the National
Speaker 1: Museum of African American History and Culture. You can check
Speaker 1: this out at NMAACH dot SI for Smithsonian Institute dot edu. Again,
Speaker 1: that's nmaa HC dot SI dot edu. And again the
Speaker 1: five surprising facts about Doctor Martin Luther King that you
Speaker 1: may not know? So Number one, did you know that
Speaker 1: Martin Luther King Junior's famous I Have a Dream speech
Speaker 1: was partially improvised and that the iconic phrase was left
Speaker 1: out of the original draft while he was While he
Speaker 1: had used the line in several speeches and months prior
Speaker 1: to the March on Washington on August twenty eight, nineteen
Speaker 1: sixty three, a few of his advisors questioned its use
Speaker 1: and kept it out of the original drafts of that
Speaker 1: day's speech. While delivering his address to the nation, King
Speaker 1: was encouraged by his friend and legendary gospel singer Mahalia
Speaker 1: Jackson to tell them about the Dream Martin, he departed
Speaker 1: from the four minute prepared remarks to deliver one of
Speaker 1: the most famous and influential speeches of the twentieth century,
Speaker 1: Number two. King skipped two grades and entered college at
Speaker 1: the age of fifteen. He was admitted to Morehouse College
Speaker 1: in nineteen forty four and graduated in nineteen forty eight,
Speaker 1: where a BA in sociology at the age of nineteen
Speaker 1: shout out to the House One Time, the Moorhouse President,
Speaker 1: doctor Benjamin E. Mays, became an inspirational figure in King's life.
Speaker 1: King continued his education at Krozer's Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Speaker 1: Despite receiving a C grade in public speaking class, he
Speaker 1: was elected student body president and graduated valedictorian of his class.
Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty one. He enrolled in Boston University's doctoral
Speaker 1: program and was awarded his pH d at the age
Speaker 1: of twenty five. When Boston, King met Coreta Scott and
Speaker 1: became a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated
Speaker 1: Number three. He was arrested twenty nine times. His charges,
Speaker 1: many of which were dropped, ranged from civil disobedience to
Speaker 1: traffic violations and you can, of course see more on
Speaker 1: his rest at the King Institute Number four. King survived
Speaker 1: an assassination attempt a decade before his death. On September twentieth,
Speaker 1: nineteen fifty eight, King was at a Bloomstein's department store
Speaker 1: in Harlem for a book signing when a young woman
Speaker 1: slipped past the line of people to approach him. The
Speaker 1: woman named Zola where Curry, asked if he was really
Speaker 1: Martin Luther King Junior, and after he replied yes, she
Speaker 1: thrust a seven inch letter opener into his chest carry
Speaker 1: claimed she had been after him for five years, believing
Speaker 1: he had ties to the Communist Party. The stab wound
Speaker 1: narrowly missed King's heart, and he underwent emergency surgeries that
Speaker 1: lasted hours. King would later issue a statement affirming his
Speaker 1: nonviolent beliefs and stated he had no malice feelings toward
Speaker 1: his attacker and then finally number five. After his death,
Speaker 1: the King family filed a civil case against the government
Speaker 1: and one on December eighth, nineteen ninety nine, twelve jurors
Speaker 1: reached a unanimous decision that King's death was a result
Speaker 1: of a conspiracy. The trial took place in Memphis, Tennessee,
Speaker 1: and included four weeks of testimony and over seventy witnesses,
Speaker 1: the jury was convinced by the evidence and reached a
Speaker 1: verdict after only an hour of deliberation. Overwhelming evidence showed
Speaker 1: James Ray was not the shooter, but was set up
Speaker 1: to take the blame. After the evidence showed Ray did
Speaker 1: not pull the trigger, local state, and federal US government
Speaker 1: agencies and the mafia were to blame. The King family
Speaker 1: was awarded one hundred million dollars, which they donated to charity.
Speaker 1: To them, it was never about the money. They just
Speaker 1: wanted the truth out and for justice to be served.
Speaker 1: Established in nineteen sixty eight by Miss Kretiescott King, the
Speaker 1: Martin Luther King Junior Center for Non Violent Social Change
Speaker 1: has been a global destination, resource center, and community institution
Speaker 1: for over a quarter century.