PIECES OF OUR PAST - THE DAWN OF A DREAM - The first public speech of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dublin, Georgia. April 17, 1944

The Dawn of a Dream
By Scott B. Thompson, Sr. 

On a warm, windy, spring day a young, teenage, black boy, escorted by his teacher,  stepped off a bus in Dublin, Georgia.  That young man was there to recite a speech about freedom, it’s privileges and  rights, in an state-wide oratorical contest.  As an adult, he dedicated his life to the proposition that all people were equal regardless of the color of their skin.  Almost two dozen years to the day he left Dublin, that man tragically lay dying on the balcony of a Memphis, Tennessee hotel.   When they placed  him in his grave, the dream, which began to unfold right here in Dublin, Georgia, was not over, not by any means.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a fifteen-year-old and a soon to be  graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta. King won the local oratorical contest of the Atlanta “Colored” Elks Club.  With that accomplishment, young King was invited to attend the state convention  of the Elks Club held in Dublin, Georgia the week after Easter Sunday.  

During the convention, which conducted its business meetings in the Cummings Building in downtown Dublin, a contest between the winners of each club’s oratorical winners was held in the sanctuary of the First African Baptist Church on April 17, 1944. 

The topic of King’s speech was “The Negro and the Constitution.”  In his 991-word essay,  King traced the history of the Negro from 1620 to his present day and outlining the injustices his people had suffered and the maltreatments he had personally witnessed.  

Those who witnessed King’s speech listened in awe of the inspirational words coming from such a young teenager’ They had no idea of what was dawning before them.  The judges detected that there was something different in the essay.  They saw the passion, the earnest pleas for equality, Christianity and right mixed with the glimpses of hope for the future.   (Photo re-enactment @ Scott B. Thompson, Sr.)

Some years later, Dr. King wrote, “That night, Mrs. Bradley and I were on a bus returning to Atlanta. Along the way, some white passengers boarded the bus, and the white driver ordered us to get up and give the whites our seats. We didn't move quickly enough to suit him, so he began cursing us. I intended to stay right in that seat, but Mrs. Bradley urged me up, saying we had to obey the law. We stood up in the aisle for ninety miles to Atlanta. That night will never leave my memory. It was the angriest I have ever been in my life.”

That autumn, Martin entered Morehouse College as a fifteen-year-old freshman.  It was there that he was introduced to Dr. Brailsford Brazeal.  Brazeal, a native of the Montrose community of Laurens County, developed a bond with this young student, much younger than his other students.  As Dean of Men at Morehouse, Dr. Brazeal became somewhat of a mentor to King and is credited with being one of the persons who influenced the young King to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and become a minister. 

In recommending King for acceptance to Crozer Theological Seminary, Dr. Brazeal  (Left) , who taught King in his first year at Morehouse,  wrote to Crozer Dean Dr. Charles Batten, “ I regret that I can not at the moment let you know just where Messrs. King and ... rank in relationship to the other members of the senior class because we are not able to compile the list until the end of the present semester. We have checked on the record of each one of the men involved. Mr. King has a quality point average of 2.48 which is virtually midway between a "C" and a "B" average.  I might state that these two young men have developed considerably since beginning their studies at Morehouse College. They had to work hard in order to overcome a comparatively weak high school background. I believe that Mr. King has succeeded in doing this to a slightly greater degree than has ....  I believe that these young men will be able to take care of themselves scholastically and otherwise if they are given a chance to study at Crozer Theological Seminary.  I also believe that they will mix well interracially.”

Several years ago, the newly created Visit Dublin, GA,  began a project to commemorate Dr. Kings’ first public speech with an appropriate monument, one deserving of the historical impact of that day, some seven decades ago.  In April  2016, construction began on the project, but not after months and months of planning by the Tourism Council Director, Rebecca McWilliam Johnson.

Plaque placed at the church entrance by

 Craig Fraser, Dublin District Attorney.

   Johnson and her staff began by submitting ideas for grant proposals and seeking the cooperation of the City of Dublin, Dublin Downtown Development Authority, the members of First African Baptist Church, and the Laurens County Historical Society, all of which immediately and wholeheartedly signed on to the project.  After hundreds of hours of planning and with the financial and moral aid of Georgia Council for the Arts, the Georgia Department of Economic Development Tourism Division and many, many others who pledged their support from a few dollars to thousands of dollars, the first phase of the project is scheduled to be dedicated on April 17, 2017 on the 73rd anniversary of Dr. King’s speech. 

Johnson and the MLK, JR. Monument Committee worked countless hours to make the project a reality.  A committee of community leaders, city personnel and church members was organized to formulate plans for the monument and make it a monument that all of the community will be proud of.  

The committee has been led by Dublin city councilman Jerry Davis and former councilwoman and civic leader, Julie Driger, who worked closely with Martin Luther King in the 1960s.  

Davis,  (left) who is proud to be a part of the project, remarked, “I hope that his initiative by all of the partners of the project will serve to unite our entire community as Dr. King dreamed of.”  Citing the unity of this project as the reason why he returned home to Dublin, Davis is glad that “It is  finally being recognized as a part of the rich history of Dublin.”  

Driger (left) worked as secretary for Dr. King in organizing and promoting meetings and marches.  She walked behind King on his March on Washington and got a close up glance of the Civil Rights  movement in its early years.  

Some half a century later, Driger fondly remembers Dr. King as a “very, polite, social, business person. He was always business like because he had a task that the good Lord had given him that he had to accomplish and he respected that, and a man narrowly focused on accomplishing his mission in a non-violent manner. 

“Former DDDA Excutive Director, Joshua Kight (left) said “ Seeing an opportunity to contribute to the recognition of MLK's civil rights address at the First African Baptist Church, the DDDA purchased the property across from church and worked with other organizations to transform that area into a monument site that our community, and our visitors, can learn from.  This monument, and the audio experience that is connected with it, will provide a lesson on how we can build a better future together. The effort itself has brought together a diverse group of people and organizations in a way that King would have been proud of. As caretakers of our historical downtown, the DDDA is proud to be among the many who have worked to make it a reality.”

Rebecca McWilliam Johnson  (left)  sees the project as a wonderful opportunity for the City of Dublin. She proclaimed, “This project highlights the beauty of Dublin, where a gathering of minds and hearts have come together to build a monument to honor an icon, telling Dr. King's story and his Dublin experience in a dynamic, modern way to inspire future generations.”

Last year Corey Barksdale, an Atlanta artist, completed his mural on the wall of an old grocery store building which stands by the proposed plaza.  Barksdale sees that his mural and the monument itself are something distinctive and of lasting historical importance to our society.

The end of the first phase is not the end of the project.  Additional improvements to the site include a plaza, landscaping, sidewalks, and ADA improvements as well as audio and visual aids to visitors.  The application, compiled by Deborah  Stanley of the City of Dublin,  to designate and add the site to the  National Register of Historic Places was approved.

And, the dream continues.

    @ Randall Gearhardt

     @ Doug Hall