Photograph of Martin Luther King, Jr. at Commencement (June 14, 1964)

Item Information

Title:
Photograph of Martin Luther King, Jr. at Commencement (June 14, 1964)
Description:
This black and white photograph of Martin Luther King, Jr. was taken on June, 1964 at Springfield College. Standing at the podium, King is looking to the camera's left, dressed in a graduation robe and in the middle of delivering the commencement speech.
Date:
June 14, 1964
Format:
Photographs
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
College Archives Digital Collections
Series:
Springfield College Commencement Papers
Subjects:
Springfield College
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968
Graduation ceremonies
Podiums
Microphones
Lecterns
Places:
Massachusetts > Hampden (county) > Springfield
Link to Item:
https://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/2578
Terms of Use:
Text and images are owned, held, or licensed by Springfield College and are available for personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that ownership is properly cited. A credit line is required and should read: Courtesy of Springfield College, Babson Library, Archives and Special Collections. Any commercial use without written permission from Springfield College is strictly prohibited. Other individuals or entities other than, and in addition to, Springfield College may also own copyrights and other propriety rights. The publishing, exhibiting, or broadcasting party assumes all responsibility for clearing reproduction rights and for any infringement of United States copyright law.
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
Springfield College
Language:
English
Notes:
In 1964, Springfield College shared a moment in history often overlooked by historians with honorary degree recipient and commencement speaker Martin Luther King Jr. Despite significant pressure from prominent shareholders and benefactors of the College to not invite Martin Luther King to speak at Commencement, college President Glenn A. Olds, a minister and conscientious objector during World War II, refused to waver. When King was arrested the day before, Olds contacted law enforcement officials, telling them that if they continued to hold King, school officials would fly down to tape the commencement address, leaving St. Augustine to deal with the attendant publicity. Whether or not his intervention played a role, King was released on a nine hundred dollar bond Saturday afternoon. Met at the airport by Springfield College Economics Professor Robert Randolph, later the first black president of the Massachusetts State College System at Westfield State, King toured the campus, gave a press conference, and shared a brief luncheon with faculty and administration. On the day of commencement, Black Muslim protestors who felt King was too conciliatory and bomb-sniffing dogs greeted the graduating class.
The back reads: AH "F;" 95%; p. 4; Please Return to Springfield College Public Information Office; Please Return to Public Relations Office Springfield College Springfield, Mass. 01109
Identifier:
martin-luther-king-speaking-1964