On April 26, 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. visited three east side high schools in Cleveland, including Glenville. Audio of that speech had been recorded but sat undiscovered in the high school’s library until it was accidentally unearthed in 2011 by an art teacher and some students.
King had been invited to Cleveland by the United Pastors Association, a group of ministers that organized after the Hough riots.
Seems timely in more than one way today and this week.
“And so there are things that all of us can do and I urge you to do it with zeal and with vigor. And let me say to you, my friends, that in spite of the difficult days ahead, the so-called white backlash — which is nothing but a new name for an old phenomenon — I’m still convinced that we’re going to achieve freedom right here in America. And I believe this because however much America has strayed away from the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, the goal of America is freedom. Abused and scorned as we may be, our destiny is tied up with the destiny of America.”
This article appears in Jan 11-17, 2017.
I would like to think that Mr. Butts.. the typing teacher
May have recorded that tape. He used a reel to reel to
Tape the March on Washington for the students to listen to.. I was an art student during that time and we had many wonderful teachers that imparted so much to us
As well as Mrs Evans our Art Teacher who also taught
Black History. I am so happy to know it was recorded
And survived all these years!
BBC Radio 4 has an interesting 38-minute feature entitled The Green Book, which brings “The Negro Motorist Green Book” out of the dusty pages of U.S. history. Alvin Hall traveled the country to tell the story of Harlem postal worker Victor H. Green and his yearly manual (published from 1936 to 1964) that listed hotels, restaurants, service stations and tourist homes which would serve African Americans. The Call and Post advertised in the guide, which eventually had sections on Bermuda, Mexico and Canada.