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Morning News

Co-Author Bob Adelman Discusses 'King: The Photobiography of Martin Luther king Jr.'

Aired January 15, 2001 - 9:36 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: His words helped transform this nation. And a new book about Martin Luther King Jr. Features some vivid and compelling images from his struggle for justice and equality. The book is "King: The Photobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.

Photojournalist and co-author Bob Adelman joins us from our Miami bureau this morning.

How are you? Good morning to you.

BOB ADELMAN, CO-AUTHOR, "KING: THE PHOTOBIOGRAPHY": Good morning.

HARRIS: I have to tell you, I, like many people, have never seen many of the photos -- I'd say probably most of the photos that are in this book. Did you have a hard time compiling all of these?

ADELMAN: Yes, well, it -- we went through 300,000 photographs. It was a tremendous task and I learned a tremendous amount. I think the overwhelming impact of the book is you realize what this man had to go through to, you know, free us all. You know, there he is, this dignified, you know, highly educated, sensitive man being treated like a common criminal. And he was -- well, of course, I -- we all know what a great speaker he was, probably the greatest orator of the 20th century.

HARRIS: Now, this is a picture taken from the book. The first shot was a picture of him being arrested and booked in Montgomery. This is him preaching in Montgomery, correct?

ADELMAN: Yes, yes. For 13 months, the black community in Montgomery did not use the public buses. It was the first organized and major confrontation with civil authority. And they eventually shut down the bus company until the courts desegregated the buses and -- but, of course, when they returned to the buses, Dr. King said, you know, we must return in love and reconciliation.

HARRIS: There was some -- and there's some great pictures from that whole bus boycott episode in this book, many of which I haven't seen before; some shots of some of the bus drivers just laying around inside the buses because they had nothing to do.

ADELMAN: Yes. HARRIS: Let's take a look at some of the photos you have in here from the D.C. rally. We got some pictures from some of the people who were there and that really captured the feeling of that particular moment. We have that first shot up from page 43? This is page 43 of the book, and this is none other than Mahelia Jackson?

ADELMAN: Yes, this was from the prayer pilgrimage, which was in 1957. It anticipated the great march on Washington. And it was Dr. King's entry onto the national stage.

HARRIS: This, Rosa Parks.

ADELMAN: That's the great Rosa Parks, who appears throughout the book. She was everywhere with him. She was at all the major campaigns. And, of course, they just dedicated a library to her. And there he is stepping forth onto the national stage. And at that important speech, he said, give us the -- you know, give us the ballot, give us the ballot.

HARRIS: Was this the "I Have a Dream" speech on the Mall?

ADELMAN: No, no, no. This is something we discovered in the life files. It's called "Prayer Pilgrimage." It occurred in '57. The march on Washington was in '63.

HARRIS: And some of these...

ADELMAN: And that's where he delivered the "I Have a Dream." There's a -- you know, what he had to go through, he was stabbed here, he was arrested 14 time, he was bombed twice, he had daily threats against his life.

HARRIS: And this was one that was actually -- that did play itself out. Can you tell us, our folks, our viewers this morning who may not be familiar with this particular story, what happened in this incident?

ADELMAN: Well, he was at a book signing in Harlem and a deranged woman came up to him and said, are you Dr. King? And he said, yes, and she plunged a letter opener into his chest.

HARRIS: A 7"-long Japanese letter opener, as I read the story this morning.

ADELMAN: Yes, yes.

HARRIS: And you see it there in the picture there in his chest.

ADELMAN: Yes, yes. And it came perilously close to his aorta. And had he sneezed, the doctor said, he would have died. Fortunately...

HARRIS: That's phenomenal.

ADELMAN: Yes.

HARRIS: Now, these are pictures that you culled that were taken of him here in Atlanta. This showed a different side to his life.

ADELMAN: Yes, well, of course people forget he was a Ph.D. in theology. He spent most of his life -- he was a thinker and writer. He constantly wrote. Most of his life was spent writing. This is a particularly poignant moment in his life. He had just been. He was constantly being attacked. A racist pummeled him in Birmingham, and he didn't tell his wife and someone else told her, and she was very, very upset that he didn't defend himself. As the man was hitting him, he tried to reason with him.

He -- I think he reached a level of spiritual development where he thought that violence was just subhuman, that he wasn't -- when people became violent they weren't being, you know, human beings anymore.

HARRIS: Yes, and then on the other side of the coin there for his family, after dealing with that tension, they came together.

ADELMAN: He was very devoted to -- yes, he was very devoted to his family and had -- of course, he spent almost half of his life traveling, speaking for the movement. You know, he was just totally selfless man. He led a sacrificial life. But he was...

HARRIS: And he had -- I'm sorry, go ahead.

ADELMAN: Yes, but he always talked about his -- how much he loved his children and his wife. And here, of course, he was such an extraordinary preacher. And this is one of the pictures that captures the impassioned way that he spoke. I guess we've all heard him speak, but this, I think, catches some of the spirit of it.

HARRIS: Kind of hard to imagine these are all taken of the same man.

We're going to stick around and take more looks at some more of these pictures in this phenomenal book and talk some more with Bob Adelman after a break. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)n

HARRIS: Welcome back.

The book is "King: The Photobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.," edited by Charles Johnson and Bob Adelman. Bob Adelman joining us once again from Miami to talk some more about some of these incredible photos that are collected and put in this book, many of which, I promise you, you've never seen before, like perhaps the one we're going to show right now. Take a look at this one.

Bob, tell us what's going on in this one?

ADELMAN: Well, you know, Dr. King was a revolutionary. And this is the beginning of the Birmingham campaign, which was the campaign that broke segregation in America, and which was a despicable system. And here he is being roughly treated by the police and arrested. And they're wearing the kind of clothes that Southern farmers wore, Southern black farmers, denims, to identify with the people. And here he is in the Birmingham jail, where he wrote this unforgettable document justifying this enormous campaign. And the brilliance of this campaign was that he had studied Gandhi and eventually went to India and was very much devoted to the idea of completely shutting down the city, in this case, Birmingham, so that justice could be done. And with the -- they brought the young high school students into the jails and filled the jails, and eventually the blacks who had been isolated in the black part of town were able to break out and completely stop business in downtown Birmingham, which brought about the solution and eventually -- this was, of course, international news. And, of course, they brought about a settlement in Birmingham.

And then -- that's "Bull" Connor, who is the -- who was, in a way, set up to be this, you know, terrible racist.

HARRIS: This is an incredible photo. This photo in the book takes up two page. It's an incredible shot.

ADELMAN: Well, it was a crucial moment in the civil rights struggle and became a symbolic -- it's my photograph. And it's -- the demonstrators were being knocked down and intimidated by the hosing from the firemen. And rather than running away, they chose to hold onto each other and stand up. And a lady told me in Louisiana months later, well, we really stood up in Birmingham. And that's what it was about. The oppression could no longer continue.

This is Dr. King and his wife marching into Montgomery.

HARRIS: Do you know who that is with them? Do you know what that is marching along with them?

ADELMAN: I believe that's the U.N. ambassador. His name slips my mind.

HARRIS: OK, he looked familiar to us as well. We couldn't place the name.

ADELMAN: Yes.

HARRIS: Now, this was a shot taken , I believe, taken in Memphis, correct? The night before he was shot?

ADELMAN: Well, it was, I think, a day -- it was his last public appearance. And this is where he says, I've been to the mountaintop. This is that extraordinarily disturbing and prescient speech he made, a sermon. And...

HARRIS: I would say this is a prescient photo. This almost looks like he's lying in state.

ADELMAN: Yes, yes, yes.

HARRIS: And we've all seen this?

ADELMAN: Yes, of course, this is the tragic, terrible moment when he was shot, and his aides are pointing to him. These are unseen photographs that we were able to obtain from the life files. And there he is and both his aides are trying to help him, but, of course, he's probably dead at this moment.

HARRIS: And as you see the blood stains there on the ground.

ADELMAN: Yes. There he is at Spelman College laying at rest. The crowds were just extraordinary. And that's the whole family viewing the open casket. And the lines were for miles, really, waiting to view him. And then when he was buried the day of the ceremony, he was -- it must have been 100,000 people in Atlanta viewing him if 50,000 marched.

HARRIS: That was -- it was an incredible scene. And this book is full of more incredible scenes. A multifaceted man. Perhaps this may be the best way to tell the story of his life. Bob Adelman thank you very much and congratulations on a great work.

ADELMAN: Thank you, thank you.

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