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MLK’s 1968 Speech at Grosse Pointe High
School available on Website
Grosse Pointe has a special but little known connection to Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., which is examined in full on the Society’s website.
The Nobel-prize winning activist gave a speech at Grosse Pointe High
School (now Grosse Pointe South) on March 14, 1968, three weeks before
he was assassinated (see pictures at left and below). His speech, entitled
“The Other America,” was delivered in the school gym to a capacity crowd
of 2,700, according to a
Grosse Pointe News
article. Some 200 picketers
from the right-wing organization Breakthrough demonstrated in front of the
building and interrupted King’s speech numerous times. King was asked to
speak by the Grosse Pointe Human Relations Council, a group of concerned
citizens who worked on issues like fair housing.
A copy of the speech along with pictures of King’s appearance can now be
found on the website, www.gphistorical.org, as well as comments from
members of Breakthrough and the Human Relations Council.
“We had a copy of the speech in our files at the Resource Center and felt
the community would be
interested in it,” said
Society curator Suzy
Berschback. The event
had major historical sig-
nificance, she said.
According to accounts in
the Society’s files, The
Grosse Pointe Farms
Police Chief actually sat
on King’s lap in the car ride to the high school in order to protect
him, Berschback said. “That’s how volatile the situation was.”
Anyone who attended the speech is invited to e-mail us at
info@gphistorical.org with their remembrances.
5
What’s New on the Web
Video Gallery
—View clips from “Past
As Prologue” Volume 1 of our Grosse
Pointe history documentary. VHS
tapes are available for purchase from
the Society.
Finding Aids
in PDF file format are
now available online. These keys to
the collections and materials in the
resource center will assist
researchers. Included are
•
The Garden Club of Michigan
Archives
•
Heritage Magazine Subject Index
•
Plat Book Locations
•
WPA Grosse Pointe Guide
Historical Stories and Interviews
Compiled by The Works Progress
Administration
•
Doris Cook Personal Papers
Materials related to local history
classes taught in the Grosse Pointe
Public School
•
Henry Russel’s Three Mile Drive
Association Archives
The Association was founded in
1927 as a means of maintaining
the quality of residences on Three
Mile Drive between the Detroit
River and Kercheval Avenue and
insuring strict compliance with all
building restrictions.
•
Jacobson’s Collection
Sales promotion documents
and photos from Jacobson’s in
the Village.
•
School of Government Archives
Concerned since its inception with
the discussion of topical, govern-
ment-related issues, the School of
Government was founded as the
School of Government of Wayne
County in 1940 by Clara Hantel
Brucker (1897-1980).
•
Mrs. Winnifred M. Weyhing Real
Estate Collection
This collection contains Mrs.
Weyhing’s personal real estate files
primarily created while she was
associated with Ann Goodman
(Goodman Real Estate).
•
Frederick Scully Real Estate
Collection
This collection contains materials
which pertain to the development
of Grosse Pointe area real estate
by both Arthur Scully and his son,
Frederick.