As America honours Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy, there are still some facts unknown to many Canadians.
Here are 10 little-known facts about the life and legacy of Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
Halfway through his speech at the 1963, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted: “Tell them about the dream, Martin!”
The call-out prompted King to pivot to a previous sermon he’d delivered, where he described a version of the American Dream that was equal and accessible to all citizens.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today,” Dr King said.
The iconic moment would later become known as the “I have a dream” speech. And there is still work to be done to truly live up to Dr King’s dream of equality, said Lerone Martin, director of the Martin Luther King Jr Research and Education Institute at Stanford University.
His dream of equality is quintessentially American, Mr Martin told the BBC.
“Despite all the disparagement he endured, King did a wonderful job of constantly trying to show how his efforts were in line with American ideals,” he said.
When born on 15 January 1929, he was named after his father, Michael King. But six years later, King’s father visited Germany and learned about Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant reformation.
He was said to have been so inspired that he returned home and officially changed both his and his eldest son’s names to Martin Luther King.
In 1944, Martin Luther King Jr was admitted to Morehouse College at the age of 15. Generations of the King family had graduated from the prestigious all-male historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia.
According to the King Institute, the future civil rights leader was said to have been an “ordinary” student, but his time at Morehouse was instrumental in awakening his passion for social and political equality and inspired him to become a preacher.
In his 13 years as a civil rights leader, King was arrested 30 times, largely for misdemeanours and civil protest violations, according to the King Center. Though he was often a target of law enforcement, King did not relish being imprisoned.
He was arrested in October 1960 after a sit-in at a department store in Atlanta and was held in Georgia State Prison. He wrote to his wife, Coretta, from jail saying that he hoped the “excessive suffering that is now coming to our family will in some little way serve to make Atlanta a better city, Georgia a better state, and America a better country”.
According to the King Center, King wrote five books over the course of his lifetime and published numerous collections of his letters and sermons.
His 1964 book, Why We Can’t Wait, recounted the events that led to the landmark Birmingham, Alabama, campaign to end segregation.
Nichelle Nichols, better known as the original Lt Nyota Uhura in Star Trek, was once introduced to someone claiming to be “her biggest fan” – Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Nichols had resigned from her ground-breaking role on Star Trek days before they met at an awards ceremony. But when she informed King she planned to leave the show, she told the Television Academy Foundation, King was adamant that she could not abandon the iconic role.
“He said: ‘For the first time on television we will be seen as we should be seen every day, as intelligent, quality, beautiful people… who can go into space,'” Nichols recalled.
“I just stood there realising every word he was saying was the truth. At that moment, the world tilted for me.” She would continue in the role for years.
In September 1958, King was approached by a mentally ill woman as he signed copies of his latest book, Stride Toward Freedom, in Harlem, New York City. The woman verified that he was indeed King before stabbing him with a seven-inch blade.
At the time, doctors said he was “a sneeze away from death”, because the knife was so close to his aorta, according to the King Institute.
After learning the woman was mentally ill, King said: “I bear no bitterness toward her” and instead called for her to receive treatment.
On 30 June 1974, six years after King’s assassination, a 23-year-old man shot and killed King’s mother, Alberta Williams King, while she was playing the organ during a service at Ebenezer Baptist Church.
The shooter was found guilty and sentenced to death, but was later re-resentenced to life in prison in part because of the King family’s opposition to the death penalty.
In an interview with Gayle King that recently went viral, actress Julia Roberts confirmed a little-known fact about the day she was born.
“The King family paid for my hospital bills,” she said, adding that the Roberts and King families became close because her parents welcomed King’s children into their Atlanta acting school.
Later, when Julia was born and her family couldn’t afford the hospital bills, King and his wife, Coretta, “helped us out of a jam”.
Dr King was only 39 years old when he was assassinated on 4 April 1968. He spent less than 13 years in the public eye campaigning for civil rights and racial equality.
But according to the King Center, in that short amount of time he was able to bring more progress towards racial equality in the United States than the previous 350 years.
Source: BBC
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
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The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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