Community Corner
5 Ties MLK Has to Dearborn, Metro Detroit
As the nation recognizes Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, here's a look at the civil rights leader's Michigan connections.
Martin Luther King, Jr. left his mark during his lifetime as a civil rights activist, and his work included a couple stops in the Detroit area.
As you celebrate MLK Day on Monday, Jan. 21——take a look at some lesser known facts that really bring the message home.
Five ways MLK is tied to Michigan:
1. Original Dream Speech - King first delievered the "I have a Dream" speech to a crowd of 150,000 at Cobo Hall in Detroit, two months before the famous rendention in during the March on Washington in 1963.
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2. Recording star - The original version of the "Dream" speech was recorded by Gordy Records, a subsidiary of Motown Records in Detroit.
3. Rosa Parks Bus - When she refused to give up her seat to a white person on a public bus in 1955, Rosa Parks, a tired black seamstress, sparked the civil rights movement that King led. That bus remains one of the most visited exhibits in Dearborn's Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village—and one where President Barack Obama took a seat during a 2012 tour of the facility.
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The Henry Ford also honors MLK's legacy every year with the With Liberty and Justice for All Symposium. The event is free, open to the public, and begins at 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 21.
4. Visit to Grosse Pointe - In 1968, King gave a speech to a crowd of 2,700 at what is now Grosse Pointe South High School, according to the Grosse Pointe Historical Society. He was assasinated three weeks later.
5. MLK Symposium - Monday will mark the 27th annual MLK symposium at the University of Michigan. Each year the university focuses on a topic related to King in an effort to "remember the work and legacy of Dr. King." This year's theme is 50 Years Later (R) Evolution of the Dream.
