Whether raising money for charity, fighting for civil rights or mediating an end to the riots in Watts, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a âregularâ in the City of Angels.
Hereâs Dr. King speaking to 4,500 people on the campus of UCLA. King called for students to join a âDomestic Freedom Corpsâ to work in 120 counties of the Deep South to help increase the number of registered African American voters.
I had the opportunity to sit with Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a well-known and respected civil rights leader in Los Angeles. I asked about his views on the history of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the progress of African Americans in Los Angeles, and whether African Americans have a new âbeaconâ to follow.
Hutchinson told me he was a teenager when he first saw King speak at the LA Coliseum, then again at the Sports Arena. Hutchinson said he knew immediately there was something special about King, the way he spoke, his charisma and the ability to touch a crowd. Hereâs Dr. King at the LA Coliseum June 1st, 1964.
Hutchinson told me King sparked a movement and motivated young people to mobilize and stand up for their rights, and the rights of others. Hutchinson says King visited LA many, many, times for a bunch of reasons, and not all of them were related to the civil rights movement. I saw am archive of a film shot in October of 1963 where King was speaking in the parking lot of a grocery store in south LA. It was part of a nationwide speaking tour to âget out the voteâ. He joked that while he didnât want to tell people who to vote for, he wanted the crowd to know he wasnât going to vote for âGoldwaterâ. (The Republican Presidential nominee Barry Goldwater).
Hereâs King with California Governor Edmund G. Brown during a Freedom Rally at the LA Sports Arena on June 18, 1962. About 12,000 people were expected to show up but when more than 25,000 arrived, organizers had to put speakers outside the arena for the overflow crowd.
Hutchinson told me King was an opera buff and his wife, Coretta Scott King, was a classically trained singer. He said King was an avid sports fan and would keep tabs on his favorite teams. Hutchinson also mentioned many people assumed King was wealthy and came from a well-to-do family â Hutchinson was quick to point out that King was practically poor, never owned a home and drove a beat up 1950âs car. Hutchinson added that after King won a Nobel Peace Prize, King donated all of his prize money to charity.
Hutchinson told me Dr. King was a beacon for African Americans, and all people who were disenfranchised. And, there would never be another beacon like him. Hutchinson said some consider Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson as surrogates but in the spirit of the civil rights movement, no one comes close to King.
And, when I asked the state of affairs inside LAâs African American communities, Hutchinson told me itâs fractured and not unified. And, despite having African Americans in elected positions, Hutchinson said those elected officials are fumbling the ball when it comes to action and accountability.
In 1965, King was asked to come to LA to help quell tensions related to the riots in the Watts area of Los Angeles. King held a press conference and answered reporterâs questions. Hutchinson said this was classic King â never afraid to go into the trenches. Hutchinson said King traveled throughout the south part of LA without a security detail and met with as many affected people as possible.
On April 4th, 1969 King was assassinated at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee (above). Hutchinson said he was walking home from a bus stop in Leimert Park when he heard screams and yelling from nearby homes. He said he remembers walking into his home and hearing his motherâs reaction. Hutchinson said as he wrapped his head around the news, he realized at that moment just how important Dr. King was to not only African Americans, but all Americans.
Listen to my extended feature with Earl Ofari Hutchinson and archival audio from Dr, King here
Photos: Los Angeles Library Archives; Library of Congress