Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: Recalling Civil Rights Activism in Brooklyn

“I have a dream today!”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s declaration still resonates today, almost fifty years after his words echoed from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. On Monday, January 17, 2011 our nation will turn its thoughts to a celebration of Dr. King’s life and the meaning of his struggle for civil rights. As Dr. King said in 1956, that meaning was not “just a fight for Negroes, it is a fight for justice and democracy.” Brooklynites reflecting on those words can also reflect on the fact that those words were spoken by Dr. King in our borough, to an interracial audience of 2,500 people at the Concord Baptist Church, as reported by Stanley Rowland, Jr. in the New York Times of March 26, 1956.

Besides coming out to hear Dr. King preach about civil rights, many Brooklynites were direct participants in the movement. For example, several members of the Brooklyn chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) took the August 28, 1963 call to “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” literally by walking from Brooklyn to DC, thereby publicizing local civil rights concerns. Brooklyn CORE and other New York City organizations were renowned for their many direct actions for equal rights, including picketing of Ebinger Baking and other companies against employment discrimination and a sit-in at the Board of Education against de facto school segregation.

There will be many events in Brooklyn this weekend -- including those at BAM, the Brooklyn Museum and the Children’s Museum -- providing opportunities to reflect on Dr. King and his legacy. Beyond this weekend, Brooklyn Historical Society has a number of resources for those interested in learning more about civil rights activism in Brooklyn and New York City. These include the Arnie Goldwag Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) collection; the papers of Richetta Randolph Wallace, a Brooklyn resident and NAACP staff member in the first half of the 20th century; and the papers of Amote Sias, a community activist in the 1970s-1980s. You can find out more about these collections from our Emma catablog.

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