Digital History - April 1959

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (left) speaks with members of the Earlham community at Stout Meetinghouse on April 23, 1959. He had spoken earlier in the day in Goddard Auditorium.

King spoke on the topic of "Real Progress in the Area of Race Relations," according to a brief report of the event in the July 1959 edition of the Earlhamite. The magazine also noted that King disregarded both extreme optimism and extreme pessimism in race relations instead taking "the realistic view of acknowledging that we have come a long way and accepting the fact that we have a long way to go."

Image courtesy of the Earlham College Archives.

View additional image of Dr. King's April 1959 visit to Earlham.

To view other historical images of Earlham College, please visit the College's digital archives.