The Springfield & Central Illinois African American History Museum announces the Grand Opening for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Exhibit to be revealed on Thursday January 4, 2018. Viewing of the exhibit will begin at 5:30pm and the program will begin at 6:00pm. The exhibit and program are free but donations are encouraged. The exhibit and program is in conjunction with the 2018 commemoration of the 50 th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination (“MLK50”). Dr. King’s exhibit was developed with the collaboration of the Illinois State Museum to honor his legacy and contribution to Civil Rights. The community is invited to come pay homage to this great civil rights leader. Our guest speaker is Dr. Paul Hudson- “Professor of Business” at Lincoln Land Community College.
On April 3 rd 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. arrived in Memphis to march with striking sanitation workers. That evening he gave his last speech and sermon famously known as I Have Seen the Mountaintop. As he was preparing to leave for dinner on April 4, 1968, he stepped out on the balcony of his room, number 306, of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN to acknowledge some friends. Solomon Jones suggested to King that he should get his coat as the evening was getting cool. “Okay,” was King’s
response, he was killed an instant later by a bullet shattering his right cheek, passing through his neck, and embedding itself into his shoulder. An ambulance was called, but despite the efforts of medical personnel, he passed away at 7:05 p.m.
“Our exhibit commemorates the life and legacy of one of America’s greatest Civil Rights leaders; Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” says Douglas E. King, Board President. “Dr. King was cut down at a pivotal time in our country. This exhibit will help us all to bring Dr. King’s ‘Dream’ to fruition.”
For more information visit our website at www.spiaahm.org or call the museum at (217) 391-6323.
About AAHM: The Springfield & Central Illinois African American History Museum exhibits, identifies, collects, catalogs, restores, houses and maintains documents and artifacts relating to and chronicling the history and legacy of African Americans in Central Illinois. The Museum provides research opportunities, educational programming and interpretive services to historians, educators, students and others interested in the lives and legacies of African Americans in Central Illinois while enhancing their overall knowledge about African American people.
