Publisher Description
For the first time ever, twenty-four original recordings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., from his iconic "I Have A Dream" speech to his stirring sermon "A Knock At Midnight," are collected together in this treasured box set. His landmark speeches that echoed around the world and the more intimate sermons from the churches where he carried out his ministry are just as moving and meaningful today as they were when the great orator first expressed them.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speeches stirred a nation to change -- and his calls to peaceful action and refusal to turn to despair or violence in the face of injustice continue to inspire the world today. Each of the twelve sermons and speeches collected here is accompanied by an introduction by other renowned theologians and champions of civil rights, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Rosa Parks, Reverend Billy Graham, Bishop TD Jakes, Aretha Franklin, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and Representative John Lewis, who share their priceless firsthand testimony on the events that inspired the delivery of King's message.
This definitive box set includes all the landmark speeches of the great orator and American leader Martin Luther King, Jr., from his inspirational "I Have a Dream" to his firey "Give Us the Ballot." Comprised of recordings previously included in A Call to Conscience and A Knock at Midnight, The Essential Box Set is a must-have for any home, library, or school collection.
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"My favorite speeches: I've Been to the Mountaintop and I Have a Dream"
—
Yumi (5 out of 5 stars)
About the Authors
Clayborne Carson, PhD, was a participant and observer of African American political movements during his undergraduate years at UCLA. Since receiving his doctorate in 1975, he has taught at Stanford University, where he is now professor of history and director of the King Papers Project. He has also been a visiting professor at American University, the University of California, Berkeley, and Emory University and a fellow at the Center for the Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford. His scholarly publications have focused on African American protest movements and the political thought of the period after World War II. His writings have appeared in leading historical journals and numerous encyclopedias, as well as in popular periodicals. His first book, In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s, won the Frederick Jackson Turner Award of the Organization of American Historians. Dr. Carson has lectured at many colleges and universities in the United States and abroad on a wide range of topics, including King, Malcolm X, the Black Panther Party, Black-Jewish relations, and the need for a multi-cultural curriculum.
Keith David is a classically trained actor, Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee. He stars, alongside Zoe Saldana, in the upcoming Netflix limited series “From Scratch.” Keith was featured in Jordan Peele’s latest film “Nope.” His expansive film credits include 21 Bridges, Night School, Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, Requiem for a Dream, Men at Work, They Live, Crash, There’s Something About Mary, The Thing, Platoon and many others. Keith completed 5 seasons starring in Greenleaf for Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network. Other TV credits include NCIS: New Orleans, Blackish, MacGyver, Fresh Off the Boat, Community, Enlisted, and Mister Rogers Neighborhood. Keith’s collaboration with Ken Burns earned him 3 Emmy Awards for his narration of Jackie Robinson, The War, and Unforgivable Blackness – The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. Most recently, Keith narrated the documentary Ali by Ken Burns. Some of his other voice acting credits include Adventure Time, Bojack Horseman, Rick & Morty, Spawn, and Gargoyles. On Broadway, he starred in Seven Guitars and Jelly’s Last Jam (Tony nomination). As a singer Keith has toured for the past several years with Too Marvelous For Words, in which Keith recreates Nat King Cole. Keith is currently creating a show about legendary blues singer Joe Williams. Born and raised in New York City, Keith is a graduate of the New York High School of the Performing Arts and the Juilliard School.
About the Narrators
Martin Luther King
Jr. (1929–1968) was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son and grandson of
pastors. He graduated from Morehouse College and Crozer Theological Seminary,
becoming the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama
at age twenty-five. He subsequently earned his PhD from Boston University. In
1957, he and other civil rights leaders founded the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference, an organization he led until his death. A proponent of
Gandhian principles of nonviolence, he led many protests and demonstrations for
civil rights, including the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August
29, 1963, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Winner of the
1964 Nobel Peace Prize, he continued to fight for civil rights, the eradication
of poverty, and the end of the Vietnam War. He was assassinated on April 4,
1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Keith David is a classically trained actor, Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee. He stars, alongside Zoe Saldana, in the upcoming Netflix limited series “From Scratch.” Keith was featured in Jordan Peele’s latest film “Nope.” His expansive film credits include 21 Bridges, Night School, Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, Requiem for a Dream, Men at Work, They Live, Crash, There’s Something About Mary, The Thing, Platoon and many others. Keith completed 5 seasons starring in Greenleaf for Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network. Other TV credits include NCIS: New Orleans, Blackish, MacGyver, Fresh Off the Boat, Community, Enlisted, and Mister Rogers Neighborhood. Keith’s collaboration with Ken Burns earned him 3 Emmy Awards for his narration of Jackie Robinson, The War, and Unforgivable Blackness – The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. Most recently, Keith narrated the documentary Ali by Ken Burns. Some of his other voice acting credits include Adventure Time, Bojack Horseman, Rick & Morty, Spawn, and Gargoyles. On Broadway, he starred in Seven Guitars and Jelly’s Last Jam (Tony nomination). As a singer Keith has toured for the past several years with Too Marvelous For Words, in which Keith recreates Nat King Cole. Keith is currently creating a show about legendary blues singer Joe Williams. Born and raised in New York City, Keith is a graduate of the New York High School of the Performing Arts and the Juilliard School.
Jay Gregory
is a veteran New York actor of stage, film, and television. He can be heard in
a number of informational narrations on the Discovery Channel, TLC, and
PBS and has a wide range of audiobooks to his credit.
Neil Hellegers grew up in New Jersey and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a BA in theater arts and a minor in psychology before getting an MFA in acting from the Trinity Rep Conservatory in Providence, Rhode Island. He moved to New York City in 2003 and, since then, has made a career of theatrical performance, percussion, theater education, and audiobook narration. He currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.