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Through the efforts of a group of prominent Atlantans, a 10,000-piece collection of handwritten notes and unpublished sermons of Martin Luther King Jr. ’48 narrowly avoided the auction block and will now make its home at Morehouse College, alma mater of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate whose drum majoring for peace and justice was first ignited here
The coveted collection, which has been called the most valuable collection in private hands, was slated to be auctioned at Sotheby's on June 30th. Several institutions, from the Smithsonian, to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History at the New York Historical Society, Boston University and others were interested in the papers.
On Friday, June 23 at about 9:30 p.m. the auction was averted by a deal spearheaded by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and several public and private entities. The $32-million deal paves the way for the papers to reside permanently in the city where King was born and the Civil Rights Movement was anchored. More specifically, the papers will be owned by Morehouse, where they will be made available for research, public access and exhibits.
The people who taught and mentored King while at Morehouse shaped his philosophies and theories--which in turn helped shape the man and the movement. Morehouse College is proud to be a part of this effort to protect and preserve America’s history.
Check this site often for up-to-date information regarding the historic acquisition of the King Papers
