A recording of one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches, made in 1960 in Kansas, was recently discovered. During preparations for the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s speech at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, a note to alumni seeking memorabilia from the event produced a surprising result.
1961 graduate Randy Harminson, a native of Newton and a retired engineer at IBM, produced a rare recording of the speech.
Harminson recorded the speech on a reel-to-reel tape recorder as a junior at the college. After receiving the e-mail from Bethel College he found the tape in a storage barn.
Bethel College checked the recording and confirmed that it was, in fact, a recording of Dr. King speaking at the college on Jan. 21, 1960. It is the only copy in any form of the speech that is known to exist.
The King Center, which retains copyrights to the material, is in discussions with Bethel College over reprinting and publishing the text of the speech.
The speech was played as the opening event in Bethel’s 2010 King holiday celebration on Jan. 18. It was restored and preserved; and the contents were transferred to an audio CD last year.
1961 graduate Randy Harminson, a native of Newton and a retired engineer at IBM, produced a rare recording of the speech.
Harminson recorded the speech on a reel-to-reel tape recorder as a junior at the college. After receiving the e-mail from Bethel College he found the tape in a storage barn.
Bethel College checked the recording and confirmed that it was, in fact, a recording of Dr. King speaking at the college on Jan. 21, 1960. It is the only copy in any form of the speech that is known to exist.
The King Center, which retains copyrights to the material, is in discussions with Bethel College over reprinting and publishing the text of the speech.
The speech was played as the opening event in Bethel’s 2010 King holiday celebration on Jan. 18. It was restored and preserved; and the contents were transferred to an audio CD last year.
