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Many people paused Monday to remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In honor of his birthday, we dug up a rare interview King did with KELO TV back in the 1960s at the very height of the civil rights movement.
"First of all, Dr. King let me welcome you to Sioux Falls," KELO TV announcer Doug Hill said.
King, who was in town for a speaking engagement, had never traveled this far north.
During the interview, King talked about the woman who became one of the most important symbols of the modern civil rights movement.
"On the first of December, 1955, a Negro citizen, Mrs. Rosa Parks was arrested on a bus because she refused to give up her seat for a white passenger," King said.
Her arrest led to a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, that lasted nearly 400 days. When the city began bus integration with blacks and whites, King said there was resistance.
"The first few days we had some incidents, but they were very small and minor. The transition took place in a very smooth and peaceful manner," King said.
King also talked about his nonviolent approach during the civil rights movement, protesting the indignity and injustice African Americans were facing in the deep South.
"I think the Negro protestors, when they have stood up for their rights, have done it with amazing discipline and amazing dignity," King said.
KELO's interview with King lasted about 12 minutes.
"Certainly would like to thank you very much for paying us this high honor by visiting us in our KELOLAND studios, we wish you luck," Hill said.
King's birthday is actually January 15. But it's now celebrated every year in all 50 states on the third Monday of January.
Watch the interview in its entirety by clicking on the link below.
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