Black to The Future: students digitize more than 200,000 MLK Jr. documents

 

Out of more than 200,000 original documents belonging to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the students who archived them for The Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change Imaging Project say the most important document was King’s report card from Morehouse College. The man who is known for his  “I Have a Dream” speech and his ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ received a ‘C’ in speech and a ‘C’ in English, and so explains the irony of what may seem like a trivial document in the academic career of one great man. To the students responsible for digitizing and archiving documents like King’s less than stellar report card, it was the civil rights leader’s humanly flawed side they believe has the power to inspire future generations.

Khalfami Lawson, a senior studying political science at Kennesaw State, says he was more than willing to be involved with such a huge undertaking. A native of Atlanta, Lawson wanted to explore the layers of Dr. King’s character. When Lawson heard there were unseen archival documents that needed to be digitized he jumped at the opportunity to help. 

“To be honest I grew up in The City of Atlanta so I had the usual trip to the King Center for his birthday and Black History Month. My problem is that when you go to the King Center you get a linear explanation of history," Lawson says.  "You go there and it’s the ‘I Have a Dream Speech’ and that’s Black History. I thought there’s a bit more to it than that,” Lawson explains. 

Each student submitted a resume to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. who established the program and also hired veterans to help archive the documents. Lawson says the experience opened his eyes about Dr. King and gave him a new perspective on excellence; especially to see the great orator’s college transcripts.

“My absolute favorite is Dr. King’s transcripts because it was a complete shock to me that Dr. King had a 2.5 as an undergrad,” Lawson chuckles. “It is important to see that Dr. King was not absolutely perfect. You can see he’s not perfect, but look what he’s done. “

Attendees of the Martin Luther King Jr., Salute to Greatness Dinner, walked around  panels displaying everything from letters written by King to Congress explaining the importance of civil rights to personal correspondence to King’s daughter apologizing for missing her birthday. Touchscreen monitors were used to view most of the documents and there were overhead projectors set up to view transparencies.

The project began in June 2011, with students and workers digitizing images from day one. They began working about 30 hours a week, but the hours quickly increased with the students taking about 6,000 photos a day - sometimes twice a day. Rico Hall, a graduate student at Clayton State University earning a master’s degree in archival studies, put in long hours as the website transcriber - learning Dr. Kings writing style and transcribing his documents. Hall says the project allowed him to get to know Dr. King on a personal level. Growing up Hall learned about The March on Washington and other pivotal events, but he says King remained a mystery. 

.“This project allowed me to get to know him in a much more personal way and the world to get to know him in a much more personal way," Hall says. "It’s extremely important because it will change lives and have a greater impact than we understand today in the next 10-15 years.”

Many of the issues King faced are still relevant today and that's what makes the project paramount says Hall. Digitizing the documents makes the information readily available to anyone, unlike before when the papers were only seen by a privileged few. The young archivist says the most interesting documents offered insight into King’s interactions with others like the telegram he sent to Betty Shabazz when Malcolm X was assassinated 

“I couldn’t believe the books he would read and he would write in the margins, to see his actual thoughts and what he thought about religion, science and issues of the day,” Hall recalls. "His transcripts from Morehouse shows he was an average student, not an ‘A’ student like everyone thinks. A lot of people look at him like this myth, but he was a man.”

The MLK Center Imaging Project gave Hall the opportunity to hone in on his craft and become closer to the man responsible for the national and international exposure of The Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King lived a very public life, but the students learned that what happened outside of the public eye had the most profound effect. Marquis Brown, a recent graduate of Morehouse and indexer/digitizer, says it was Dr. King’s ability to go through adversity and continue to display resilience that inspired him the most.

“My favorite document was a letter from a young kid who was like five years old and he donated $3 dollars and wanted to be a part of SCLC, but even more inspiring was that Dr. King wrote back to him,” Brown explains. “He took time out of his busy day to write to this young kid and it possibly change his life forever.”

It was King’s ultimate triumph and perseverance that should serve as the main focus of his life, especially for young people today Brown says. Adversity always comes against those doing the right thing, but Brown says King left a road map on how to keep going despite the challenges. 

“I think it motivated me because I saw him go against the wind so strong at that time. To know you are going to go through adversity, but if you keep your mind set and know what you stand for you will be alright,” Brown says. “I really appreciate Dr. King for that.”

For more information on the  Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change go to www.thekingcenter.org/