Never-before-seen Full recording Martin Luther King's 1964 Nobel Peace Prize Lecture audio released

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• published: 18 Jan 2016
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Full recording of the civil rights leader's 1964 Nobel Peace Prize lecture has been made available for the first time Martin Luther King's 1964 Nobel Peace Prize Lecture audio recording, described as one of his most important speeches, has been made available for the first time. Its release by the Nobel Prize organisation coincided with Martin Luther King Day in the US. King gave the lecture on Dec 11 1964 as he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle to end racial segregation. In the speech, he frequently references his seminal "I have a dream" speech, ending with: "To come to that great and glad day when men all over the world will be able to join hands, black and men and white men, Jews and gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, Hindus and Muslims, and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual 'Free at last, free at last, thank God all mighty, we are free at last." Clayborne Carson, the director of the King Institute at Stanford University, said it was one of King’s “most important speeches”. “It lays out his goals for the remainder of his life. He also addresses the problems of racial injustice, poverty and war as global evils rather than specific American problems,” he said. In South Carolina, civil rights leaders gathered at the statehouse to pay homage to King without the Confederate flag casting a long shadow over them for the first time in 17 years. The flag was taken down over the summer after police said a young white man shot nine black church members to death during a Bible study in Charleston. Following the massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Gov. Nikki Haley reversed course and made it a priority for politicians to pass legislation to remove the flag. Bishop James Walker, who presides over the 7th Episcopal District in Connecticut, praised the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People for its fight against the flag. "You forced important power in high places to recognize that the scared memory of the Emanuel Nine would be parched by a symbol of injustice flying over the Capitol," he said at a prayer breakfast. At the Statehouse, about 1,000 people assembled under chilly, sunny skies to mark the 30th anniversary of the federal holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader, who was killed in 1968. It was one of many events across the country. In Michigan, people delivered bottled water to residents of Flint amid the city's drinking water crisis. In Atlanta, an overflow crowd listened as to the nation's housing secretary talk about the 50th anniversary of King's visit to Chicago to launch a campaign for fair housing. BIG NEWS! On ‪#‎MLKDay‬ we’re humbled and overjoyed to be able to share Martin Luther King, Jr.’s voice with the world. Today on Facebook we’re releasing a rare audio recording of Dr. King’s 1964 Nobel Peace Prize Lecture. This is the first time in history this speech has been made available in its entirety to a global audience since Dr. King originally delivered it in Oslo, Norway over 51 years ago. “One of his most important speeches”, comments Dr. Clayborne Carson, Director of The King Institute at Stanford University, on the lecture. ”It lays out his goals for the remainder of his life. He also addresses the problems of racial injustice, poverty and war as global evils rather than specific American problems.” The recording dates from 11 December 1964, and in contrast with the previously published text version, it finishes with Dr. King echoing his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech for equality and freedom: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent campaign against racial segregation, a Prize which he accepted on behalf of the civil rights movement. The Nobel Lecture is a requirement for the Nobel Prize. A Nobel Lecture has been held by all Laureates – with very few exceptions – since the first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. Never-before-seen Full recording Martin Luther King's 1964 Nobel Peace Prize Lecture audio released