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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. stories: 46 news summaries

1 - 20 of 46 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>

 King's Daughter to Head SCLC 

Bernice King to be first woman to head group

(Newser) - Bernice King was elected to lead the Southern Christian Leadership Conference today, becoming the first woman to helm the civil rights organization her father, Martin Luther King Jr., co-founded. King wasn’t there for the board vote, which she won 23-15 over an Arkansas judge, so interim president Byron Clay... More »

 10 Protests That 
 Changed History 

Iran's post-election storm has these precedents

(Newser) - The post-election storm brewing in Iran prompted LiveScience to round up some of history's most significant protests:
  • A piece of paper nailed to a church door in 1517 sparked the Protestant Revolution.
  • Parisians moved more boldly, beheading the Bastille's governor to spark the French Revolution in 1789.
... More »

MLK's Kids Bicker Over Spielberg Biopic

Siblings plan to fight Dexter King's sale of movie rights to their father's life

(Newser) - The sale of the movie rights to Martin Luther King Jr.'s life has revived the feud among his three surviving children, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Martin Luther King III and Bernice King say their brother Dexter—chief executive of the King estate—only informed them of the plans for... More »

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(Newser) - The first authorized biopic of Martin Luther King Jr. will be a Steven Spielberg production. The filmmaker's DreamWorks studio has obtained the rights from King's family, NPR reports. No word yet on whether Spielberg himself will direct or who will play the main role (Denzel? Jamie Foxx?). King’s children... More »

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entertainment Steven Spielberg film DreamWorks Martin Luther King Jr. civil rights movement biopic Dexter King American history

New Photos Bare Aftermath of King's Death

Life finally releases
grim images taken
after assassination

(Newser) - Newly published photographs by a Life magazine lensman capture the aftermath of the shocking assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., including a motel worker sweeping away the blood of the civil rights crusader. Few journalists traveled to Memphis after the assassination, and Life declined to run the photos after his... More »

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MLK Predicted Black US Prez
in 'Less Than
40 Years'

BBC unearths 1964 talk with civil rights leader

(Newser) - The BBC has dug up an archival interview of Martin Luther King, Jr predicting a black US president "in less than 40 years." Talking to the BBC's Bob McKenzie in 1964, King said he was encouraged by recent changes, like compliance with the Civil Rights Act, "that... More »

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(Newser) - Barack Obama pitched in at a Washington emergency homeless shelter for teens today, as part of his pitch for greater public service, the AP reports. After touring the facility alongside Martin Luther King III, Obama rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt and helped paint a wall in the... More »

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 MLK's Dream 
 Now a Reality: 
 69% of Blacks 

Majority of blacks say King's vision fulfilled; whites more skeptical

(Newser) - More than two-thirds of African Americans believe that the goals set out in Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech have been met, a CNN poll finds. That number has doubled since last March, to 69% from 34%. Although whites seem to still think race relations have... More »

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 Warren 
 to Keynote 
 MLK Service 

One day before controversial inauguration address

(Newser) - Just a day before he makes his appearance at Barack Obama’s inauguration, Rick Warren will give the keynote address at the annual Martin Luther King Jr memorial service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, King's former home in Atlanta, the OC Register reports. While Obama has taken heat from gay... More »

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Belafonte, Sotheby's Cancel MLK Auction

King estate disputes ownership of papers

(Newser) - Sotheby's has canceled the auction of three Martin Luther King documents amid an ongoing feud between their owner—Harry Belafonte—and the King estate, the New York Times reports. MLK's heirs contend that Belafonte is not the rightful owner of the papers, which include an important King speech on Vietnam... More »

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BOOK REVIEW

 45 Years Later, 
 JFK Theories Live On 

New book on JFK assassination offers new ideas, little proof

(Newser) - In the canon of great conspiracy theories, the JFK assassination remains unquestionably king. The enduring national mystery has given rise to some of the most complicated explanations, and the theory offered by a new book is one of the more pleasingly convoluted, reports Vanity Fair in a look at Legacy ... More »

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King Family Wants Cut of Obama-King Souvenir Cash

The dream may be passed down, but not the brand

(AP) - The family of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is demanding a share of the proceeds from the sudden wave of T-shirts, posters, and other merch pairing the civil rights leader with Barack Obama, the AP reports. Obama may have inherited the dream, but they own the brand, says the... More »

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 MLK's Kids Fight Over Letters 

Judge orders Bernice to bring unpublished papers to court

(Newser) - Legal battles among Martin Luther King Jr's children drag on, this time over who gets mom and dad's unpublished correspondence. Yesterday, a judge ordered youngest daughter Bernice, the administrator of Coretta Scott King's estate, to bring to court letters and photos that sit at the heart of a disputed $1.... More »

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OPINION

After 43 Years, LBJ's Dream Is Realized Tonight

Voting Rights Act paved the way for Obama's candidacy, writes Caro

(Newser) - As Barack Obama accepts the Democratic nomination tonight, author Robert A. Caro will be remembering another speech: Lyndon Johnson's 1965 address to Congress urging the passage of the Voting Rights Act. In that speech, which reduced Martin Luther King to tears, LBJ "adopted the great anthem of the civil... More »

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MLK Children: Lawsuit Defends Dad's Legacy

Accusations fly as estranged siblings
take dispute public

(Newser) - Martin Luther King's children are blaming each other for the uncharacteristically public standoff that led two of them to sue the third over management of their father's estate, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The deaths of the family peacekeepers, mother Coretta and sister Yolanda, helped expose the rift. "Strong parents... More »

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 MLK Children Fight Over Estate 

Family dispute over civil rights hero's estate goes public

(Newser) - Two of Martin Luther King Jr.'s three surviving children are taking their brother to court, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Bernice and Martin King III say Dexter, president of the corporation that oversees the civil rights hero's intellectual property rights, has mishandled company funds and wrongfully taken money from their... More »

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 MLK's FIrst Grandchild Born 

Yolanda Renee born to Martin Luther King III and wife

(Newser) - The first grandchild of Martin Luther King Jr. was born yesterday morning in Atlanta to Martin Luther King III and his wife, Arndrea Waters King, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Yolanda Renee King is named after the civil rights leader's oldest child, who died last year. Baby Yolanda and mom are... More »

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Panel Rips MLK Statue, Says He Looks Like a Dictator

Fed commission calls 28-foot sculpture too much like totalitarian art

(Newser) - A federal arts panel is demanding changes to a colossal statue of Martin Luther King Jr. planned for the heart of Washington because commissioners think King looks too "confrontational," almost like a dictator, reports the Washington Post. The 28-foot-tall statue is to be the centerpiece of a 4-acre... More »

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tv review

 As Cities Burned, 
 James Brown Saved Boston  

Documentary recalls unrest that followed King assassination

(Newser) - In the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King, riots raged in many American cities. In Boston, where there had been unrest on the night of April 4, officials worried about the fallout of a James Brown concert scheduled for April 5 at a downtown arena. A new documentary... More »

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 Not an Icon, a Man 

Would civil rights legend be controversial in today's political climate?

(Newser) - On the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination, the Washington Post looks past the legend at the multidimensional figure scholars and King's associates consider his true legacy. ”His challenge was much bigger than being nice," says historian Taylor Branch. "It was even bigger than race.... More »

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1 - 20 of 46 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>