{"id":7243,"date":"2018-02-15T14:37:37","date_gmt":"2018-02-15T18:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=7243"},"modified":"2018-02-15T14:37:37","modified_gmt":"2018-02-15T18:37:37","slug":"black-history-month-martin-luther-king-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=7243","title":{"rendered":"Black History Month – Martin Luther King, Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"

Each February, the United States celebrates Black History Month, which underscores and celebrates the contributions of African American Culture to the American experience over hundreds of years. Black History Month also examines and highlights the terrible oppression African Americans have experienced during these hundreds of years, and those who fought against it and made lasting cultural and political change for African Americans. Arguably the most famous of these resistors is Martin Luther King, Jr., who was a highly respected and beloved figure of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s. George Mason University\u2019s Special Collections Research Center is home to a few materials related to King and his indelible legacy on America and the world at large.<\/span><\/p>\n

Oliver F. Atkins photograph collection<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"

Martin Luther King, Jr. at a press conference outside the White House. Oliver F. Atkins photograph collection. January 1964.<\/p><\/div>\n

Oliver F. Atkins was the chief White House Photographer for the Nixon administration, and as a result photographed many seminal moments during those years, as well as before. At the time of this photograph in January 1964, King had just been named TIME Magazine\u2019s Man of the Year and three staff members of Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) had been imprisoned for trespassing after asking to be served at the Heart of Atlanta motel. Clearly, the movement for Civil Rights was still in full swing. In this photograph taken by Atkins, King stands speaking to reporters outside the White House.<\/span><\/p>\n

James H. Laue papers<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Letter from Martin Luther King, Jr. to James H. Laue. James H. Laue collection. September 6, 1962.<\/p><\/div>\n

This collection contains the working papers of James H. Laue, former professor of conflict resolution at George Mason University. The papers document Laue’s development as a sociology student and Civil Rights activist in the early 1960s through his career as a mediator and professor of urban sociology and conflict resolution. This letter, written to Laue from Martin Luther King, Jr. himself, asking Laue to participate in an \u201call-out assault on segregation and discrimination.\u201d This remarkable letter also refers to the lead up of the Birmingham campaign, which was made up of non-violent protesting efforts by King and the SCLC to bring national attention to their cause. <\/span><\/p>\n

Marcia E. McDevitt papers<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"

Flyer for Reston’s 19th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration. Marcia E. McDevitt papers. 2004.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Marcia E. McDevitt papers consists of <\/span>various documents, pamphlets, photographs, and videos from Marcia E. McDevitt. The papers all relate to either Reston, Virginia, or Fairfax County, Virginia, and different programs and projects undertaken in the area. Reston, a planned community in Northern Virginia, has held many events and activities over the years. The above document is a flyer for celebrations held in Reston on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sources<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.thekingcenter.org\/archive\/document\/sclc-newsletter-january-1964#<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow Special Collections Research Center on Social Media at our\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0accounts. To search the collections\u00a0held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail\u00a0us at\u00a0speccoll@gmu.edu<\/a>\u00a0or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to\u00a0schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions. Appointments are not necessary to request and view collections.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each February, the United States celebrates Black History Month, which underscores and celebrates the contributions of African American Culture to the American experience over hundreds of years. Black History Month also examines and highlights the terrible oppression African Americans have experienced during these hundreds of years, and those who fought against it and made lasting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101014,"featured_media":7252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[557,194,198,67,5,121,1,339],"tags":[579,578,171,571,204,67],"class_list":["post-7243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-collections","category-fairfax-history","category-photography-collections","category-reston","category-scrc-interest","category-scrc-picks","category-uncategorized","category-virginia-2","tag-alabama","tag-birmingham","tag-civil-rights","tag-correspondence","tag-martin-luther-king-jr","tag-reston"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Atkins00323crop.jpg?fit=567%2C460&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-1SP","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2146,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=2146","url_meta":{"origin":7243,"position":0},"title":"In Remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr","author":"admin","date":"January 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This photograph of Martin Luther King Jr. was taken in January of 1964 when he spoke to reporters outside of the White House.\u00a0 Later that year King would return to the White House to witness the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 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The reception will include comments on the exhibition by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/correttascottking-300x234.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1623,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=1623","url_meta":{"origin":7243,"position":2},"title":"The Second Phase of Civil Rights: Photographs of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign","author":"admin","date":"April 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"In December of 1967, when nearly 15 percent of all Americans and 40 percent of African Americans lived below the poverty line, Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) began organizing a national campaign against poverty. The Poor People's Campaign was to inaugurate a new phase of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "recent acquisitions"","block_context":{"text":"recent acquisitions","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/coretta-scott1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5017,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=5017","url_meta":{"origin":7243,"position":3},"title":"Reston@50 A new digital exhibition on the history of Reston!","author":"Bob Vay","date":"May 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Reston, Virginia celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in April 2014, and SC&A has created a new digital exhibition on Reston's history. Named Reston@50, the Omeka-based exhibition contains eight themed exhibits and more than one hundred exhibit items from the University Libraries' collections pertaining to Reston.\u00a0 The exhibition is part of a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"C0162B04F06_2_blog","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/C0162B04F06_2_blog.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/C0162B04F06_2_blog.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/C0162B04F06_2_blog.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":411,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=411","url_meta":{"origin":7243,"position":4},"title":"Mother Martha","author":"admin","date":"March 4, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"March is Women's History Month, so my blog posts for this month will highlight SC&A's collections that feature outstanding achievements by women. The Martha Pennino Papers document Pennino's community activism and political career in Northern Virginia. The collection, featuring photographs, working papers, newspaper clips, and memorabilia, shows why Martha was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "SCRC interest"","block_context":{"text":"SCRC interest","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"Martha V. Pennino (1918-2004)","src":"https:\/\/specialcollections.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/03\/img-4_00041.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11577,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=11577","url_meta":{"origin":7243,"position":5},"title":"New & Updated Finding Aids – August 2025","author":"Meghan Glasbrenner","date":"August 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 How has your SCRC processing team been beating the extended Northern Virginia heatwave? Why preparing another group of new and updated finding aids, of course! As usual, all of the following collections are available for use in the Special Collections Research Center and the finding aids are available on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "George Mason University History"","block_context":{"text":"George Mason University History","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=529"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/C0440_01_cropped.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/C0440_01_cropped.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/C0440_01_cropped.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/C0440_01_cropped.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/C0440_01_cropped.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/C0440_01_cropped.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/101014"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7243"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7255,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7243\/revisions\/7255"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}