Exhibit of King's writings closes with big crowd

ATLANTA -- Ben Franklin has a tough act to follow.

A Franklin exhibit, complete with an original copy of the Declaration of Independence, is scheduled to open at the Atlanta History Center on July 4 in the same hall where on Sunday the most successful four-month display in the museum's history came to an end.

Atlanta turned out in record numbers to see the private writings and documents of its most famous native, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Another big turnout Sunday boosted total attendance for the exhibit to about 65,000, according to Sean Thorndike, vice president of operations for the center.

"By far, this is the most popular exhibit we've had," Thorndike said.

The exhibit, "I Have A Dream: The Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection," gave the public a rare opportunity to see the original writings and sermons, many handwritten, of the civil rights leader.

The papers were stored for years in the basement of King's widow, Coretta Scott King, before the King family planned to sell them in New York through Sotheby's auction house. Before the auction could take play, the papers were instead bought for $32 million by the city of Atlanta.

The full 10,000-piece collection will be stored at King's alma mater, Morehouse College and the college's Woodruff Library on the Atlanta University Center campus.

There are no announced plans for another public availability of the original documents. The papers will be made available to researchers at the Woodruff Library, and there are plans to make digital copies of the entire collection.

Until digital copies are made, the Atlanta History Center's exhibit -- which included 550 documents, 127 books and many rare photographs -- was the only chance to see King's works.

The exhibit provided the opportunity for viewers to go behind the scenes of some of King's most famous sermons and speeches, including details of his "I Have A Dream" speech to a crowd of 250,000 at the March on Washington.

King worked with Andrew Young and Ralph Abernathy throughout the night before the speech in Washington on Aug. 28, 1963, but some of the most famous words King delivered that day were not found in the carefully prepared text.

Instead, as King neared the end of his prepared speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, singer Mahalia Jackson called out "Tell them about the dream, Martin!" King then delivered his spontaneous words on the dream metaphor.

"We've never gotten so many comments on anything, and they're all touching," Thorndike said. "So many people have been moved to tears. It's one of those things that I guess is a spiritual experience as well as an educational experience.

"People are just amazed with what they were able to see, to see the more private side of Dr. King, through his handwriting and the notes that he took and through the photography that is available."

Thorndike said the King exhibit brought unprecedented exposure to the Atlanta History Center.

"We've been very honored to be able to host this exhibit," he said. "It's been definitely one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, and we're very grateful to have been a part of it."