By Om Khandekar, The Seattle Medium
When Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., took to the stage to deliver his keynote speech at the UW on Monday, he assured the audience he would try to keep things short but that he also grew up in a family of Baptist preachers and might accidently deliver a sermon.
True to his prediction, his speech concluded at 8:00p.m. – a half hour later than scheduled – but he also brought the crowd to a standing ovation. The appreciation was the culmination of loud cheers and acknowledgements that punctuated his discussion of voting rights, police accountability, critical race theory and the legacy of his father.
According to LaNesha DeBardelaben, CEO and president of the Northwest African American Museum, it was the perfect end to five months of effort and planning.
“This three-day commemoration has been all about refocusing and resetting ourselves,” DeBardelaben said “And there was an energy to these three days, there was an energy to gathering together in the rain, with heavy winds and unpleasant weather conditions. But that did not stop us from gathering and feeding off of one another’s determination to become a more beloved community.”
On Monday at the UW, the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) hosted the third and final event in their MLK60 series commemorating King Jr. ‘s only visit to Seattle.
Sixty years ago, King Jr. visited Seattle from Nov. 8 to Nov. 11 1961. In those four days, he spoke at the University of Washington, the Temple De Hirsch, the Brotherhood of the Mount Zion Baptist Church, and finally at Garfield High School. In commemoration, NAAM held MLK 60 events at Garfield High School, Mount Zion Baptist Church and the University of Washington.
“It’s been a beautiful three days since it began,” said DeBardelaben. “We purposely chose every site to have historical significance and to be a site where Dr. King spoke at in 1961.”
According to the details on the event page, NAAM hosted a hygiene-supplies drive at Garfield High school on Saturday, the first day of their commemoration. They advertised a photo booth from Smile Patrol as well as a giveaway of the children’s book written by King III, My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Musical performances from their African American Choir Ensemble (ACE) and a KEXP DJ were also planned.
On Sunday, NAAM hosted a community vigil in the Mount Zion Baptist Church parking lot, featuring prayer by church pastors, speeches by NAAM representatives and a performance by ACE. King III’s keynote Monday at the University of Washington was the final event, and also featured performances by singer and ACE member Josephine Howell and remarks by Sen. Maria Cantwell, King County Executive Dow Constantine and former Seattle Supersonics coach Lenny Wilkens.
In addition to the hygiene-supplies drive, they also offered COVID-19 vaccinations on Saturday at Garfield High School, partnering with King County Public Health to provide $50 gift cards to those who got the shot. Fifty people were vaccinated.
“Mount Zion Baptist church is, I want to say, one of Seattle’s oldest black churches,” said MLK60 planning committee member Jaebadiah Gardner. He said NAAM holding services and getting the community to donate supplies amidst a global pandemic feels like a continuation of King Jr.’s work in 1961. “All those things kind of are really instrumental in keeping kind of the fabric of the community together,” Gardner said.
According to KUOW and newspaper accounts of his visit, King Jr. gave speeches during his visit to Seattle that were precursors to his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C. in 1963. King Jr. sold out Meany Hall at the University of Washington and was controversially denied a venue when the First Presybetarian Church reneged on an oral agreement to have him speak there fearing his words might incite violence.
Organizers of the 2021 event said they intended to recognize all of the newsworthy events of King Jr. ‘s only visit to Seattle and, moving forward, to build on the significance of King III’s visit, and the work both father and son said must be done.
“His father, Dr. Martin Luther King has, you know, made way for civil rights for not only America, basically, the entire world,” said ACE soprano Angela Vega. “His son coming to Washington state, with especially Seattle being a progressive city, marks a very important event,” she said. “Martin Luther King, the third. coming back is a wonderful commemoration to his father.”
