WEBVTT - 012024 Way Black History Fact - 5 Lesser Known Facts about MLK

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<v Speaker 1>Right now it is time for the way Black History

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<v Speaker 1>Fact and today's Wade Black History Fact is sponsored by

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<v Speaker 1>Underground Beach Club From the Streets to the Beach. For

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<v Speaker 1>the latest in beachwere visit Underground Beach Club dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>And today I'm going to be sharing from the National

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<v Speaker 1>Museum of African American History and Culture. You can check

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<v Speaker 1>this out at NMAACH dot SI for Smithsonian Institute dot edu. Again,

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<v Speaker 1>that's nmaa HC dot SI dot edu. And again the

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<v Speaker 1>five surprising facts about Doctor Martin Luther King that you

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<v Speaker 1>may not know? So Number one, did you know that

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<v Speaker 1>Martin Luther King Junior's famous I Have a Dream speech

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<v Speaker 1>was partially improvised and that the iconic phrase was left

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<v Speaker 1>out of the original draft while he was While he

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<v Speaker 1>had used the line in several speeches and months prior

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<v Speaker 1>to the March on Washington on August twenty eight, nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>sixty three, a few of his advisors questioned its use

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<v Speaker 1>and kept it out of the original drafts of that

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<v Speaker 1>day's speech. While delivering his address to the nation, King

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<v Speaker 1>was encouraged by his friend and legendary gospel singer Mahalia

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<v Speaker 1>Jackson to tell them about the Dream Martin, he departed

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<v Speaker 1>from the four minute prepared remarks to deliver one of

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<v Speaker 1>the most famous and influential speeches of the twentieth century,

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<v Speaker 1>Number two. King skipped two grades and entered college at

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<v Speaker 1>the age of fifteen. He was admitted to Morehouse College

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen forty four and graduated in nineteen forty eight,

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<v Speaker 1>where a BA in sociology at the age of nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>shout out to the House One Time, the Moorhouse President,

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<v Speaker 1>doctor Benjamin E. Mays, became an inspirational figure in King's life.

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<v Speaker 1>King continued his education at Krozer's Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania.

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<v Speaker 1>Despite receiving a C grade in public speaking class, he

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<v Speaker 1>was elected student body president and graduated valedictorian of his class.

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<v Speaker 1>In nineteen fifty one. He enrolled in Boston University's doctoral

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<v Speaker 1>program and was awarded his pH d at the age

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<v Speaker 1>of twenty five. When Boston, King met Coreta Scott and

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<v Speaker 1>became a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated

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<v Speaker 1>Number three. He was arrested twenty nine times. His charges,

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<v Speaker 1>many of which were dropped, ranged from civil disobedience to

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<v Speaker 1>traffic violations and you can, of course see more on

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<v Speaker 1>his rest at the King Institute Number four. King survived

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<v Speaker 1>an assassination attempt a decade before his death. On September twentieth,

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifty eight, King was at a Bloomstein's department store

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<v Speaker 1>in Harlem for a book signing when a young woman

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<v Speaker 1>slipped past the line of people to approach him. The

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<v Speaker 1>woman named Zola where Curry, asked if he was really

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<v Speaker 1>Martin Luther King Junior, and after he replied yes, she

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<v Speaker 1>thrust a seven inch letter opener into his chest carry

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<v Speaker 1>claimed she had been after him for five years, believing

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<v Speaker 1>he had ties to the Communist Party. The stab wound

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<v Speaker 1>narrowly missed King's heart, and he underwent emergency surgeries that

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<v Speaker 1>lasted hours. King would later issue a statement affirming his

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<v Speaker 1>nonviolent beliefs and stated he had no malice feelings toward

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<v Speaker 1>his attacker and then finally number five. After his death,

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<v Speaker 1>the King family filed a civil case against the government

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<v Speaker 1>and one on December eighth, nineteen ninety nine, twelve jurors

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<v Speaker 1>reached a unanimous decision that King's death was a result

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<v Speaker 1>of a conspiracy. The trial took place in Memphis, Tennessee,

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<v Speaker 1>and included four weeks of testimony and over seventy witnesses,

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<v Speaker 1>the jury was convinced by the evidence and reached a

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<v Speaker 1>verdict after only an hour of deliberation. Overwhelming evidence showed

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<v Speaker 1>James Ray was not the shooter, but was set up

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<v Speaker 1>to take the blame. After the evidence showed Ray did

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<v Speaker 1>not pull the trigger, local state, and federal US government

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<v Speaker 1>agencies and the mafia were to blame. The King family

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<v Speaker 1>was awarded one hundred million dollars, which they donated to charity.

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<v Speaker 1>To them, it was never about the money. They just

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<v Speaker 1>wanted the truth out and for justice to be served.

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<v Speaker 1>Established in nineteen sixty eight by Miss Kretiescott King, the

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<v Speaker 1>Martin Luther King Junior Center for Non Violent Social Change

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<v Speaker 1>has been a global destination, resource center, and community institution

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<v Speaker 1>for over a quarter century.