Arts & Entertainment
Tape of Martin Luther King Jr. Speech Found
From right to left: G. Homer Durham, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph Abernathy,
an unidentified participant, Rev. Louis Eaton and Msgr. Robert Donahoe at
Goodwin Stadium, Arizona State University, June 3, 1964. Martin Luther King
addressed an audience of 8,000 people on the topic “Religious Witness for
Human Dignity.”
By Terry Tang
The Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) — Mary Scanlon had no
idea a $3 purchase from a Goodwill store in
Phoenix would turn out to be a rare link to
the civil rights movement’s most revered
leader.
Last April, Scanlon was at the thrift store
when she spotted a pile of 35 vintage reel-
to-reel tapes, including one labeled with the
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s name. Despite
the moldy and torn packaging, she snapped
up all of them.
“I didn’t really necessarily have any
expectation that this tape would be rare,”
Scanlon said.
Arizona State University archivists have
found that tape is the only known recording
of speeches the slain civil rights leader gave
at ASU and at a Phoenix church in June
1964. The hour-long audio has since been
digitized and is now available for listening
on ASU’s website through June 30.
The tape illustrates that King had been
eager to visit supporters in Arizona, a state
that would draw criticism more than 20
years later for rescinding the Martin Luther
King Jr. holiday.
Scanlon, who donated all the tapes to the
school, said the find is one of the high
points of her life.
Read the rest of this story online at
www.theskanner.com
PHOTO COURTESY SCARBOROUGH FAMILY
PHOTO BY: MONSIGNOR ROBERT DONAHOE COLLECTION
Happy 102nd Birthday!
Zelma Scarborough, wife of the late Naymon Scarborough, founder of
Scarborough Oil, celebrated her 102 birthday Jan. 22. Her family
surprised her at home with a special gathering. Zelma was born in 1912
in Yazoo City, Miss. She is the fifth child of 10 siblings; her sister Corneila
Montgomery and brother O.D. Richardson are her last two siblings. Her
daughter Phyllis and granddaughter Chris Baldwin spend time with Zelma
watching sports, especially the Trail Blazers. Zelma is a member of the
Good Shepherd church.
February 5, 2014 The Portland Skanner Page 9