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From Mountain Xpress by Thomas Calder POET AND SINGER: In 1949, poet Langston Hughes, right, spoke at Allen High School in Asheville. One of the students in attendance was Eunice Waymon, later known professionally as Nina Simone. In time, the poet and the singer developed a unique friendship, which author and N.C. State University professor W. Jason Miller is currently documenting in an online archive, Backlash Blues: Nina Simone and Langston Hughes. Photo of Simone courtesy

From NC State Audio Abstract Podcast Miller explains why King's July 31, 1966 speech at Reynolds Coliseum has been lost to history until now, discussing his discovery of never-before-developed photographs and previously unknown film footage. Listen Here

By Joherric From NC State University Institute for Emerging Issues In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Institute for Emerging Issues wanted to present the fascinating conversation we had with this week’s First in Future guest, Dr. Jason Miller of NC State’s Department of English. He has discovered a connection between Dr. King and North Carolina in two different speeches in 1962 and 1966. In 1962, Dr. King visited Rocky Mount, and you will hear a part of that speech t

By Jason Miller From The News & Observer Nearly forgotten, Dr. King spoke in Raleigh to an integrated audience of about 5,000 at Reynolds Coliseum at 4 p.m. on July 31, 1966. A counter-protest began two hours earlier with speeches at Memorial Auditorium and continued with a march by members from two factions of the Ku Klux Klan. FBI files reveal these white supremacists had to reschedule their rally when King’s visit was postponed from July 10 due to his involvement in protes

By Alastair Hadden From NC State University News This week and next, NC State will celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with events across campus — including service days , an award-winning virtual reality experience and a commemoration speech from Symone Sanders , political analyst and former national press secretary for the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign. Those events represent the continuation of years of research and exploration at NC State

By Lauren Kirkpatrik From NC State University News In 1956, King recited Hughes’ poem “ Mother to Son ” from the pulpit to honor his wife Coretta, who was celebrating her first Mother’s Day. That same year, Hughes wrote a poem about Dr. King and the bus boycott titled “ Brotherly Love .” At the time, Hughes was much more famous than King, who was honored to have become a subject for the poet. But during the most turbulent years of the civil rights movement, Dr. King never pub

By Nash Dunn From NC State University News Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches help form the foundation of his legacy. From “I have a dream” to “Fill up the jails,” his words are timeless. Echoing from old recordings and jumping off the page of the written record, King’s ideas and rhetoric pillared the civil rights movement, and they continue to inform and instruct leaders as they navigate current social challenges. They’re still used by teachers to educate students — still use

By Scripps News A historian's work on the link between Martin Luther King, Jr.'s work and the work of Langston Hughes helped unearth a major find: the earliest recorded version of King's iconic "I Have a Dream" speech, captured nine months before he delivered it on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. (Video via Universal News ) "These wonderful residents in the city of Rocky Mount have known about this. ... But there is no substitute for hearing Dr. King at the height of his

From NC State University News By Nash Dunn Months before delivering his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke the famous refrain in a small town in North Carolina. For years, Rocky Mount citizens have told tales about hearing the first rendition of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. On Nov. 27, 1962, nine months before the refrain echoed across the National Mall during the March on Washington, the words r

By Sam Stringer, Ben Brumfield From CNN Little else stirred the American soul in the 20th century like four short words cried out across the National Mall in Washington on August 28, 1963 – “I have a dream.” Before Dr. Martin Luther King’s words echoed throughout Lincoln Memorial, he raised goose bumps inside a segregated school gym in North Carolina. And just like in Washington, the refrain “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” prompted roars