January 16, 2019
Temple University Urban Archives/for PhillyVoice
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., addresses a crowd outside Girard College at Girard and Corinthian avenues, Aug. 3, 1965.
Dr. Martin Luther King visited the Philadelphia region more than two dozen times in the 20 years since he first began his studies at the Crozer Theological Seminary and with mentor Reverend J. Pius Barbour of the Calvary Baptist Church in Chester, Pennsylvania.
While in the City of Brotherly Love, King delivered sermons, gave public speeches, organized and lead protests and rallies and received awards for his work. King's final visit to the area occurred in February of 1968, two months before his assassination.
Here, to illustrate his life on the day the nation has set aside in his honor, is a collection of images from his time in the Philadelphia region.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., addresses a street corner rally at 40th and Lancaster Avenue, Aug. 3, 1965.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses civil rights demonstrators at Girard College. Cecil B. Moore, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is seated to King's left. Aug. 3, 1965.
Martin Luther King, Jr., speaks at the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse at St. Joseph's College, Oct. 26, 1967.
Martin Luther King, Jr. listening to a choir from a South Philadelphia High School before addressing an audience at the Academy of Music, Oct. 25, 1961.
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. attends a protest rally at Girard College, Aug. 3, 1965.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the crowd at a mass rally at the Grace Baptist Temple at Broad and Berks streets, Aug. 3, 1965.
