Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929.
[“Martin Luther King’s study, Dexter Parsonage Museum, Montgomery, Alabama.” Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith. 2010. From the George F. Landegger Collection of Alabama Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Click for a larger view.]
A note from the Library of Congress:
The Dexter Parsonage Museum, historic home to twelve pastors of the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church from 1920-1992, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Martin Luther King lived in the home from 1954 to 1960.The full-size 6432 × 4643 photograph at the Library of Congress website offers many details.
I’ll quote again words that I quoted at this time last year:
Perhaps the most determining factor in the role of the federal government is the tone set by the Chief Executive in his words and actions.[I think that my excitement in finding this photograph made it difficult for me to realize that the room must be a re-creation. A Montgomery website says that “The nine-room clapboard Parsonage, built in 1912, has been restored to its appearance when Dr. King and his family lived there. Much of the furniture presently in the the living room, dining room, bedroom and study was actually used by Dr. King.” But the books? The records?]
Martin Luther King Jr., Why We Can’t Wait (1964).
comments: 5
Thank you for this--I posted the quote on my workplace's FB.
P.S. The bear! The bear! (under the desk)
Yes, I spotted that too.
The more I look at this photograph, the more I think it must be a re-creation. Are those really King’s books? His child’s bear? I think my excitement about finding this photograph shut down my skepticism.
A tourism website says that “The nine-room clapboard Parsonage, built in 1912, has been restored to its appearance when Dr. King and his family lived there. Much of the furniture presently in the the living room, dining room, bedroom and study was actually used by Dr. King.” But the books? The records? The typewriter? I don’t know.
Hey, Michael--
I wondered about that too--is the photo a re-creation of a photo from the time King used the room?
Or is it a re-imagination... a stage set.
Like, is that even his kids' bear? Or just a cute touch?
Still, I have to say, it's a nice touch--a reminder kids must have been under someone's feet...
My guess is a re-imagination. The phone books, to cite one detail, look much too recent. I’d guess that the bookshelves are original. I’d like to think that the desk/table is original too.
When I saw this photograph, I immediately thought of Henry Darger’s room. That exhibit really contains the contents of Darger’s room, or at least what wasn’t first thrown out after his death. So my skepticism shorted out.
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