“Come with me if you will, to the ruins of his home after a vicious bombing attack by midnight marauders.”
You’re listening to the voice of C.W. Lee as he prepares to introduce Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.
“Hear him say: “”Put away your weapons, friends, and go home, and let there be no violence. Passive resistance will be our policy, and love will be our weapon.””
Lee introduced Dr. King to the National Negro Funeral Director’s Association in Cleveland Ohio on August 7th, 1956. Entitled “Birth of a New Age”, the speech was recorded and pressed in a small run, making this LP exceedingly rare.
“Hear him further say “”though my body be prostrate by an assassin’s bullet, the fight for justice and first class citizenship will continue.”” He is the embodiment of all of our ideals and leadership and the consummation of our hope. I have the honor to present to you Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. of Montgomery, Alabama.”
Hear more episodes featuring “The Birth of a New Age” this week here at soundbeat.org
Sound Beat is produced at the Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries.
Image credit Rowland Scherman – U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46527326