King Collection Programs

Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Scholars Program

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Scholars Program consists of a co-curricular initiative for first-year students to engage the teachings, philosophy, and activism of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. while exploring contemporary issues and debates in our times. Additionally, students learn about ethical leadership and transformative social change through ongoing experiential and service learning, engagement with speakers, films, and visits to historical sites of memory. The intent of this program is to cultivate a heightened sense of civic engagement and social responsibility as we prepare students to assume positions of active and effective leadership in a democratic society.

Reading, Writing and Remembering King

The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Essay Contest provides an opportunity for improvement in reading, writing, and critical thinking skills while promoting a greater understanding and appreciation for the teachings of Dr. King. The essay contest provides a context for engaging students in intensive writing workshops and introducing them to the Morehouse King Collection. Designed for college and high school students, the essay contest requirements include a three-five page paper related to one of Dr. King’s writings. A panel of judges comprised of Morehouse College faculty evaluates the essays based upon content, originality, and grammar. Winners are honored in the spring at the annual MLK Collection Awards and Recognition Program.

Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Lecture Series

The series invites nationally and internationally recognized scholars, researchers, and activists to the college for a campus-wide lecture and dialogue. The public event is designed to promote research and scholarship on the continuing legacy of King and his philosophy of nonviolent social change.

Morehouse King Collection Oral History Initiative

The initiative provides complementary historical documentation of King and the twentieth-century freedom struggle through the collection of in-depth interviews with many of King’s colleagues and close associates. Interviews have been conducted with two of King’s Morehouse classmates, Dr. Samuel Dubois Cook, C’48, and Dr. CharlesVert Willie, C’48 as well as his sister, Mrs. Christine King Farris. The Morehouse King Collection Oral History Initiative also supports the Morehouse College 150th Anniversary Documentation Project.

Research, Scholarship, and Teaching with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection

This ongoing effort promotes the study of Dr. King and the struggle for civil and human rights. Researchers and scholars have open access to the Collection and are invited to present their work to the college community and in various settings as well as encouraged to seek publication of their findings. Morehouse faculty and others, within the United States and abroad, utilize the Collection in teaching and research. The Collection’s archivists provide a rich resource, not only in its conservation and preservation but as knowledgeable guides to accessing items within the Collection.

Community Outreach

Collaboration with the Atlanta Public Schools is ongoing and includes efforts to implement curriculum initiatives integrating material on King and civil and human rights into classroom teaching. Regular workshops, campus visits, and presentations to public middle and high school students and teachers reflect outreach efforts on behalf of the Collection office.

Global Impact

The Worldhouse program connects Morehouse with the global community in engaging in dialogue addressing human rights and social justice. Each year, during April, the month of King’s assassination, the college honors King’s life and works through a program based upon themes in King’s fourth book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community.” A chapter from the book titled “The World House” calls for the need to transcend tribe, race, class, nation, and religion in the quest for world peace and to resist injustice through methods of nonviolence. WorldHouse at Morehouse utilizes innovative technologies such as WebX and other messenger software to connect people from diverse backgrounds in addressing these and other issues of our times.