My good friend Adelle Banks is a reporter for Religion News Service. She recently sent me this email. The interviews are an excellent way of bring King into the classroom.
Religion News Service sent me to Memphis a month before the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. I interviewed one of the two surviving striking sanitation workers who remain on the job – a man who is also an associate minister. I also visited the three historic sites tied closely to King’s legacy – Clayborn Temple, from which sanitation workers marched with King, Mason Temple, where King gave his last sermon, and the Lorraine Motel (now home to the National Civil Rights Museum), where King was killed.
Here is a link to the overall project that I spearheaded. It will continue with additional stories, commentaries, photos, and videos:
https://religionnews.com/tag/mlk50/
Here are some highlights of what the project includes:
My story from Memphis featuring a sanitation worker who remembers King’s last sermon 50 years ago: https://www.religionnews.com/2018/03/28/remembering-kings-last-sermon-with-renewed-hope/
My Q&A with a Memphis sanitation worker who remains on the job 50 years after the 1968 strike that brought King to his city: https://www.religionnews.com/2018/03/28/a-faithful-journey-from-cotton-field-to-white-house-qa-with-a-sanitation-worker/
My story on the 3 historic sites in Memphis – 2 of them houses of worship – that are part of King’s legacy: https://religionnews.com/2018/03/29/as-king-anniversary-nears-3-memphis-sites-key-to-his-legacy-draw-visitors/
Three commentaries by clergy who lead prominent churches where King once preached: https://religionnews.com/tag/mlk50-commentaries/
My two short videos from Memphis of the National Civil Rights Museum/Lorraine Motel and its sanitation workers exhibit: https://bit.ly/2EfzrPl
A series of short videos from Memphis by a videographer and me of our interview with Rev. Cleophus Smith, a sanitation worker in his 70s: https://bit.ly/2Jfna1g
If you are interested in a specific short video, here’s a breakdown:
Rev. Cleophus Smith – Marching in ’68: https://youtu.be/r1HGvpPHyDA
Rev. Cleophus Smith – Sanitation Workers’ Conditions: https://youtu.be/0qoRZAoS8Cc
Rev. Cleophus Smith – Dressed Up Before Work: https://youtu.be/Ky863_46lxY
Rev. Cleophus Smith – King’s Shooting: https://youtu.be/QLahzBdfpQo
Rev. Cleophus Smith – Sanitation Workers’ Deaths: https://youtu.be/3mlwKkgRwZ8
Rev. Cleophus Smith – Learning to Read: https://youtu.be/1_g3f6emXZc
Rev. Cleophus Smith – Ministry Role: https://youtu.be/tCA6_QkgZbM
Click below for more about the project.
David J. Smith Consulting, LLC 