Item #16361 Dr. Martin Luther King Lies in State. Martin Luther King.

Dr. Martin Luther King Lies in State

King, Martin Luther

Paper

[Dr. Martin Luther King Funeral] Dr. King’s private funeral information sheet with phone numbers for Press, transportation, housing, the March Committee, and more; schedule of events: Dr. King lying in state, service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, march to Morehouse College, Service at Morehouse, and a Memorial Show at Atlanta Stadium. Single quarto sheet. Green paper printed recto only. Old folds, very good or better. Scarce.

Dr. King had two memorial services in Atlanta on the same day. This rare sheet includes the details for the first, private service reserved for close friends and family. The service began with Rev. Ralph Abernathy delivering a sermon which called the event "one of the darkest hours of mankind." At his widow's request, King eulogized himself: His last sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church, a recording of his famous 'Drum Major' sermon, given on February 4, 1968, was played at the funeral. In that sermon he makes a request that at his funeral no mention of his awards and honors be made, but that it be said that he tried to "feed the hungry," "clothe the naked," "be right on the war question," and "love and serve humanity." The private funeral was followed by the loading of King's casket onto a simple wooden farm wagon pulled by two mules. The procession down the three-and-a-half miles from Ebenezer Baptist Church to Morehouse College was observed by over 100,000 people. The public and final service was held at Morehouse College, where King was eulogized by college president Benjamin Mays, who had given the benediction after King's "I Have a Dream" speech. This information sheet, including details for transportation, relevant phone numbers, and details of the initial private service, would have been produced in very smaller numbers since it was not part of the public portions of the service.

Item #16361

Price: $2,200.00