Rare recording donated to University Archives
An audio recording of a speech given by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., has been donated to the University Libraries, further documenting the civil rights leader’s 1959 visit to the UI campus.
The speech, entitled “The Future of Race Relations,” was presented by Dr. King at the Iowa Memorial Union on November 11, 1959. The 42-minute recording includes an introduction by Prof. Robert Michaelson of the UI School of Religion. King’s appearance was co-sponsored by the School and by the University Lectures Committee.
Charles Silliman, a Coralville resident, donated the recording to the University Archives earlier this year. Silliman had purchased it from the University’s audiovisual service, which recorded the speech, less than a week after the event. A circulating copy on CD will be available in Media Services, and a digital copy has also been preserved, with the original tape, in the University Archives.
The image at left of King on campus is taken from the 1960 Hawkeye yearbook.
