MLK Memorial News Clips (1968)

Archival TV news collections can give a glimpse into past events as well as how those events were covered. When Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in April 1968, the ABC affiliate in Eugene, Oregon, sent a cameraman to document the memorial activities sponsored by the Black Student Union at the University of Oregon. Over 5,000 people attended the service at McArthur Court. BSU leaders gave speeches along with UO President Arthur S. Flemming (only Flemming’s speech made it on film), and student Charles Warfield led the group in singing “We Shall Overcome.” The clips also include a televised speech by Governor Tom McCall and footage of a march through downtown Eugene.

All clips are from the Chambers Communications Corp. collection (Coll 427) in Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries.