When MLK and the KKK Met in Raleigh

This lecture by National Humanities Center Fellow and NCSU professor Dr. W. Jason Miller focuses on newly discovered film footage documenting the Ku Klux Klan’s 1,800-person march in downtown Raleigh organized to protest Martin Luther King Jr.’s appearance at NC State University on July 31, 1966. Miller also uses 150 previously undeveloped photographs to explain why the KKK stole the front-page headlines even though King’s speech drew five times more attendees. MLK’s reception in Raleigh highlights the sacrifice and discipline the reverend displayed in North Carolina as the leader of the civil rights movement.

The lecture is followed by a discussion moderated by historian Dr. Everett B. Ward and songs by Mahalia Jackson (beloved by Dr. King) performed by North Carolina native Lynnette Barber, who is accompanied by former NCMA composer in residence Carolyn Colquitt.

Photo: Courtesy of Dr. W. Jason Miller