Monday, 8 October 2012

Martin Luther King in Newcastle...

Dr King speaking in King's Hall
Film footage of Dr Martin Luther KIng's Tyneside visit is found

Kerry Wood
Evening Chronicle
6 October 2012

 LONG lost footage of Black Civil Rights leader Dr Martin Luther King visiting Tyneside just months before his assassination has been found.

The grainy black and white film captures the moment the inspirational clergyman was awarded an honorary degree from Newcastle University in 1967.

Renowned for his “I Have A Dream” speech, Dr King went on to make an impromptu speech in front of hundreds of Newcastle lecturers and students.
Eric Cross, Dean of Cultural Affairs at Newcastle University, said: “Like many other universities we are careful about honouring political figures but this award obviously emphasised the impact his work had.
“One of the significant things about the visit was the impromptu speech he made and it was so very impressive. Honorary graduates were never before invited to speak and it’s only in the past couple of years this has changed.”
Hearing he’d received the honour, Dr King made the 6,330-mile round trip from America to the UK for a whistle-stop visit to Newcastle and receive the prestigious award, leaving 24 hours later.
The five-minute film sees Dr King and other dignitaries entering the hall where he is presented to the-then University Chancellor, the Duke of Northumberland, and receives his honorary degree making him a Doctor of Civil Law.

To an audience of hundreds he goes on to give a speech about racial justice - but just five months after visiting the city Dr King was assassinated while in Memphis, Tennessee.

Speaking at the hall all those years ago, Dr King said: “I can assure you that your honouring me in this very meaningful way is of estimable value for the continuance of my humble efforts, and though I cannot in any way say I am worthy of such a great honour I can assure you, you give me renewed confidence and vigour to carry on in the struggle to make peace and justice a reality.”
To thousands of students, the King’s Hall is regularly used for free weekly lunchtime concerts and graduations but 45 years ago the hall in the Armstrong building on Queen Victoria Road was the site of the historic visit.
As the only UK university to honour the civil rights leader in his lifetime, the landmark event on November 13 remains among the most important in the university’s history.
Mr Cross added: “The footage is something we’ve had for many years in our archive but it wasn’t straight away that its significance was realised. It was a very big deal for the university that he came all the way to the UK just to come to Newcastle.”
To mark the historic anniversary, the National Union of Journalists held its Claudia Jones Memorial lecture in King’s Hall. The event will also coincide with Black History month.
The footage was discovered by former Newcastle University historian Prof Brian Ward who, as an internationally renowned expert on civil rights, will also be attending the event where he’ll talk about the journey from Martin Luther King to the election of Barack Obama.
The national meeting, on until tomorrow, commemorates Claudia Jones, the journalist, trade unionist and campaigner for social justice who launched the Notting Hill Carnival and Britain’s first Black Newspaper, The West Indian Gazette.
Other speakers include Shadow Minister for the Department for Business and Newcastle MP Chi Onwurah.
MP Chi Onwurah said: “I remember reading Dr King’s I have a dream speech on a poster in Boots in Eldon Square when I was nine and being very moved by it.
“Being the only UK university to honour him in his lifetime says a lot about Newcastle, the university and what he stood for. He was an inspiration for many in the North East.”
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