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Atlanta Celebrates King Speech Anniversary
Aired August 28, 2003 - 13:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Forty years ago, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and told a quarter of a million followers "I Have a Dream." That dream of bridging the great racial divides of the nation echoed across the national Mall in Washington and resonated to the very soul of the Civil Rights Era.
Here in Atlanta, Georgia where the reverend King grew up and preached, people are marking the anniversary of that landmark speech. CNN's Gary Tuchman join us now live. Hi, Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, hello to you. And you're right this is where Martin Luther King was born, where he worked, and this is somewhere he's been laid to rest. Not only the city, Atlanta, but the street we're on right now, Auburn Avenue. This is where Dr. King's house was and this is where his crypt is.
And right now, a ceremony taking place to commemorate the 40th anniversary to the day, August 28, 1963, of his "I Have a Dream Speech." Right now on the podium a 17-year-old girl who won an oratorical contest -- her name is Ashley Ellerbee (ph), she's 17- years-old and goes to high school in Atlanta. She's speaking about Dr. King. Obviously, you just heard the end of it.
But she won a contest talking about Dr. King and the irony, the coincidences that Dr. King won an oratorical contest when he too was a teenager.
Also speaking at the ceremony today in a short while, Coretta Scott King, the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Congressman John Lewis.
Congressman Lewis one of the five other speakers who participated that day on the Mall in Washington, D.C. He was the youngest speaker that day 40 years ago. And he's the only one still alive. He's now a congressman here in Georgia. He will also be speaking.
About 15 minutes ago, the Reverend Al Sharpton spoke, presidential candidate, civil rights leader, from New York City.
Now there was a march to commemorate the speech to come to this site. There was about a mile-long march. Several hundred people marched for about one mile in a very hot day here in Atlanta. The temperature's over 90 degrees. And it was very hard for a lot of the people who are some of the more aged people to continue the walk. But they got here, they started the ceremony at 1:00. It's expected to last about another 45 minutes.
Hard to believe that it's been 40 years since the "I Have a Dream" speech. Even more hard to believe that it's been 35 years since Dr. King was assassinated. Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Gary Tuchman, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 28, 2003 - 13:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Forty years ago, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and told a quarter of a million followers "I Have a Dream." That dream of bridging the great racial divides of the nation echoed across the national Mall in Washington and resonated to the very soul of the Civil Rights Era.
Here in Atlanta, Georgia where the reverend King grew up and preached, people are marking the anniversary of that landmark speech. CNN's Gary Tuchman join us now live. Hi, Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, hello to you. And you're right this is where Martin Luther King was born, where he worked, and this is somewhere he's been laid to rest. Not only the city, Atlanta, but the street we're on right now, Auburn Avenue. This is where Dr. King's house was and this is where his crypt is.
And right now, a ceremony taking place to commemorate the 40th anniversary to the day, August 28, 1963, of his "I Have a Dream Speech." Right now on the podium a 17-year-old girl who won an oratorical contest -- her name is Ashley Ellerbee (ph), she's 17- years-old and goes to high school in Atlanta. She's speaking about Dr. King. Obviously, you just heard the end of it.
But she won a contest talking about Dr. King and the irony, the coincidences that Dr. King won an oratorical contest when he too was a teenager.
Also speaking at the ceremony today in a short while, Coretta Scott King, the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Congressman John Lewis.
Congressman Lewis one of the five other speakers who participated that day on the Mall in Washington, D.C. He was the youngest speaker that day 40 years ago. And he's the only one still alive. He's now a congressman here in Georgia. He will also be speaking.
About 15 minutes ago, the Reverend Al Sharpton spoke, presidential candidate, civil rights leader, from New York City.
Now there was a march to commemorate the speech to come to this site. There was about a mile-long march. Several hundred people marched for about one mile in a very hot day here in Atlanta. The temperature's over 90 degrees. And it was very hard for a lot of the people who are some of the more aged people to continue the walk. But they got here, they started the ceremony at 1:00. It's expected to last about another 45 minutes.
Hard to believe that it's been 40 years since the "I Have a Dream" speech. Even more hard to believe that it's been 35 years since Dr. King was assassinated. Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Gary Tuchman, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
