The 36th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast will honor a Civil Rights Movement leader while raising funds for students in the Twin Cities to further their education.
The event at the Minneapolis Convention Center supports UNCF Twin Cities’ mission to support students in the area in their pursuit of attending and graduating college.
How to watch
What: 36th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast
When: 1 p.m.
How to watch: You can watch in the player above, on Pluto TV or on YouTube.
The theme of this year’s event is is “Make Career of Humanity,” inspired by King’s charge to “commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.”
The breakfast will also feature two keynote speakers. Soledad O’Brien is an award-winning documentarian known for “The Devil is Busy” and “The Perfect Neighbor.” Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski, III is the president emeritus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
OpenAI is temporarily blocking users of its Sora 2 AI video app from making content that includes Martin Luther King Jr.’s likeness after some people created what the technology company called “disrespectful depictions” of the civil rights activist.
OpenAI, the company behind generative-AI platform ChatGPT, said late Thursday on social media that it made the decision after Bernice A. King, the youngest child of King, contacted the company on behalf of his estate.
At the estate’s request, “OpenAI has paused generations depicting Dr. King as it strengthens guardrails for historical figures,” OpenAI and King Estate Inc. said in a joint statement posted on X.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to CBS News’ request for comment. The King Center, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., declined additional comment.
The tech company launched Sora 2 in September, an AI video generation app that allows users to create hyperrealistic and fantastical content with “cameos” of themselves, friends and others who grant permission. It quickly jumped to the top of Apple’s app store.
Users can control the use of their own likeness on Sora 2. OpenAI, however, has not specified its policy on generating videos with images of deceased people. The company said Thursday that authorized representatives and estate owners can request that a public figure’s likeness not be used in Sora 2 videos.
“While there are strong free speech interests in depicting historical figures, OpenAI believes public figures and their families should ultimately have control over how their likeness is used,” OpenAI and King’s estate said.
Sora 2 has also stirred controversy after content creators generated a flood of video clips that included copyrighted characters, such as animated TV character SpongeBob Squarepants and Mario from the Nintendo video game. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed the issue in a blog post earlier this month, noting that the company will give copyrights owners “more granular control over generation of characters.”
At a time when communities across America are grappling with rising costs, attacks on democracy, and deep inequality, Bishop William J. Barber II is clear: America’s future depends on whether we can turn shared pain into shared power — and whether our leaders will dare to lift all of us, not just some of us.
In this conversation with Word In Black’s deputy managing director, Joseph Williams, at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 54th Annual Legislative Conference, Rev. Barber gets straight to the point. Poor and low-wage people, he says, are the most powerful — and the most ignored — voting bloc in America.
His warning to the Democratic Party: Ignoring the poor would be “at your own political demise.” Barber cites recent data showing that nearly 19 million people who supported Biden-Harris in 2020 didn’t turn out in the midterms — largely because they didn’t hear a clear plan to tackle poverty and low wages.
“51% of our children, even before Trump, were in poverty,” he says. And millions of Americans are either uninsured or underinsured, so offering a bold economic vision can’t be optional.
Some say America needs another Martin Luther King Jr. to lead us forward. But Barber, who serves as president of Repairers of the Breach, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, and architect of the Moral Monday movement, rejects that narrative.
“Martin Luther King never said he was the leader,” he says, noting that the March on Washington happened because of broad coalition work.
“I don’t think in any period of history it’s just a person. I think that’s a misstatement of history,” he says. Real change, he insists, comes from the ground up — from organizing in communities, states, and local movements that add up to national transformation.
“Where The Light Gathers Her Name” by artist Sayma Hossain. Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice
On Thursday, Aug. 28, the city of Atlanta celebrated the 95th birthday of civil rights trailblazer Xernona Clayton with an evening surrounded by hundreds of friends and supporters at a public art installation unveiling in her honor at Hardy Ivy Park in downtown Atlanta.
Clayton, born Aug. 30, 1930, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement as a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He was honored with Legacy in Bloom, an evening celebration featuring nature-inspired art installations by three Atlanta artists.
The event, held from 5 to 7 p.m. at Hardy Ivy Park on West Peachtree Street, showcased works by artists Chloe Alexander, Grace Kisa, and Sayma Hossain, each interpreting Clayton’s remarkable legacy through different artistic mediums.
Artist Grace Kisa with her piece, “Variations On A Dream”. Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice
Artist Grace Kisa spent about 30 days creating “Variation on a Dream,” a two-piece installation featuring abstract trees connected by flowing vines. The work draws inspiration from Clayton’s former talk show called “Variations” and represents the cross-pollination of ideas in community building.
“So you need a male and a female tree, the vines that are going through is the energy that’s transmitted,” Kisa explained. “And then the trumpet, this is an abstract version of the trumpet flower for the Trumpet Awards, is pollinating each other.”
The reference to the Trumpet Awards holds special significance, as Clayton founded the awards program in 1993 with Turner Broadcasting to honor African American accomplishments and contributions. Clayton serves as founder, president, and CEO of the Trumpet Awards Foundation.
“In this space, in this garden, she is the gardener,” Kisa said of Clayton’s role in nurturing civil rights progress. “These are the fruit of those ideas.”
The installation is positioned strategically around Clayton’s existing statue in the park, creating what Kisa described as a conversation between the artworks. “It looks like she’s presenting them and they’re talking to each other,” Kisa said. “She is the gardener in the center, and then them on each side, pollinating.”
Artist Sayma Hossain contributed two pieces that carved out different aspects of Clayton’s career, highlighting her work as an executive broadcaster at Turner Broadcasting and her leadership roles with the King Center and NAACP board. One piece is positioned by the arc, while another sits by the fence behind Clayton’s statue.
“She’s turning 95 and to celebrate her legacy, two other artists and I were asked to create work to honor her,” Hossain said. “I carved out, like, parts of her legacy, like when she was executive at Turner and when she was at the King Center- like just really amazing things,” said Hossain.
Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice
The celebration was emceed by veteran Atlanta broadcaster Fred Blankenship, who called Clayton “the link from the King family to her media roots, to the civil rights struggle, to where we are today.”
“I feel blessed to have the opportunity to talk to a living legend like Xenora Clayton,” Blankenship said. “She is the link. And to have her to be able to tell the stories of yesterday and make them relevant today, ain’t nothing like it.”
Blankenship reflected on the unique opportunity to learn from such historic figures. “I have the ability to trace my steps back through history. Who can say that? We live in a place where we have our Xenora Claytons, we have our Andrew Youngs, and it’s such an honor to be able to still pull from these legends.”
During the event, Clayton shared a personal story about experiencing racial discrimination with Dr. King at an Atlanta hotel in the 1960s. She recalled how they were denied service despite King’s efforts to impress guests from New York with a nice dinner.
“Dr. King said, You think it’s a problem here? And I said, Well, I have no idea, because I knew I had done my job,” Clayton remembered. When they called the general manager, he responded dismissively, saying, “You colored people anyway, trying to break into our operations.”
The group was forced to leave, walking out onto the corner where the Hyatt was under construction. “Dr. King said, Well, I guess we’ll have to count on that to treat us decently, because none of these places would,” Clayton recalled. “And he said, maybe we can get them to treat us right, treat us like citizens. Take our money and treat us right.”
Clayton noted that when the Southern Christian Leadership Conference became one of the Hyatt’s first operations, “they treated us with respect that day, and they’re treating us with respect” ever since.
The evening featured live music by Melvin Miller and Kathleen Bertrand, poetry by Hank Stewart, a DJ set by Sed The Saint, and refreshments, including ice pops, for attendees.
The free public event was designed to be accessible to the entire Atlanta community in honor of Clayton’s lifelong commitment to bringing people together across racial and social divides.
As artists like Kisa hope visitors will understand, the installation is about more than just the art. It is about community building and the power of ideas. Kisa said she wants people to think deeply about Clayton’s approach to creating change and fostering connections.
Kisa emphasized that the garden metaphor extends beyond her own work to encompass all the installations. She described how the artists’ works complement each other, with her piece serving as an entrance from one end of the park, while other installations guide visitors through different pathways, ultimately leading to Clayton’s statue as the centerpiece of the artistic conversation.
“I can’t dictate what it is that people feel, but at least I want them to be drawn in to what this is,” Kisa said, noting that she included a statement at the base of her installation explaining the piece.
When you visit the Shop and Save in Memphis, Tennessee, you’ll hear laughter, conversation — and WDIA.
For more than 75 years, listeners have been loyal to America’s first all-Black radio station. For 42 of those years, they’ve been loyal to host Bev Johnson.
“She’s connected to the community,” one listener said.
“The queen,” another said.
Johnson spoke to CBS News about what’s behind her continued success and why people turn to WDIA.
“I think people want to know, they want to become educated and WDIA has always done that,” said Johnson, who’s lived in Memphis since her college days. “I’m also known as ‘your girlfriend.’ And you know how you can tell your girlfriend stuff? Well, they tell me things.”
WDIA signed on in June 1947 at 730 AM in Memphis. At first, it was just another small station, owned by two white men, according to the National Civil Rights Museum. They tried all sorts of programming — country, light pop, even classical — but nothing stuck.
Then, they made a move that would change radio forever. In late 1948, they hired Nat D. Williams, a beloved African American high school teacher and columnist, to host his own show, according to the Radio Hall of Fame.
WDIA wasn’t just about music. It was a lifeline and a loudspeaker for Black Memphis. They aired news that mainstream outlets largely ignored, including stories of police brutality, unfair housing and civil rights activism, according to the station.
“We were giving them the information that they couldn’t get anywhere else,” Johnson said.
Bev Johnson broadcasting from WDIA.
CBS News
The station also promoted Black-owned businesses and organized charity drives, like the Goodwill Fund, which raised money for things like school supplies, scholarships and medical care for Black children.
It spearheaded efforts to save Memphis’ Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. Two decades later, WDIA started a foundation for the cause, raising money over the air, Johnson said.
The Lorraine Motel became the National Civil Rights Museum in 1991.
Today, Johnson, along with a rotation of expert guests, offers critical information from Memphis’ own doctors, lawyers and community leaders.
“A lot of times my guests give information that our listeners, they can’t afford it,” Johnson said.
In Memphis, one in five people live below the poverty line, according to the University of Memphis. When a problem arises, they may not know where to look — but they always have WDIA.
That’s why attorneys Monika Johnson and Ursula Woods are regulars on the show.
“It makes a difference when you have the knowledge,” Monika Johnson said.
As for Bev Johnson, Woods said, “What you see on air is what you also see off air, which is someone who truly understands the community — their needs and their desires and the things that make them laugh.”
“Bev has a way of making everybody feel like family. I don’t care who you are,” Monika Johnson said.
After over four decades, Bev Johnson says she’s not done yet.
“I think I still have some work to do to talk to some folks, to put them on the right track, give them a little wisdom,” she said.
James Brown is a special correspondent for CBS News. Brown has served as host for the CBS Television Network’s NFL pre-game show, “The NFL Today,” and had served as play-by-play announcer for the Network’s coverage of college basketball, including the NCAA Tournament.
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) and the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation hosted a special bus unveiling and voter registration drive honoring late Civil Rights icon and MARTA advocate Congressman John Lewis and his wife Lillian Miles Lewis at College Park Station.
Throughout his life, Congressman Lewis was a tireless advocate for voting rights. In 1965, he helped organize voter registration efforts in Selma and was one of the Civil Rights leaders in attendance when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. Congressman Lewis’s work advancing voting rights continued throughout his political career until his death in 2020.
As long-time community leaders and activists in Atlanta, he and his wife, Lillian Miles, understood the significant role public transportation plays in providing opportunity for all. On MARTA’s 30th anniversary, Congressman Lewis said, “MARTA is a shining example of what can be done. We wouldn’t be the capital of the American South if we had not had MARTA.”
Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice
Additionally, Congressman Lewis was one of the original Freedom Riders who fought to desegregate the interstate bus system, and who was a tireless advocate for MARTA.
MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood said MARTA history is Black history.
“As part of our yearlong celebration of Black history, we want to recognize the profound contributions of Congressman Lewis who championed public transit and MARTA, and fought for voters’ rights his entire life,” Greenwood said.
Greenwood also said MARTA is honoring Lewis who throughout his life advocated for public transit, voting rights, and opportunities for all people.
“Congressman Lewis was a happy warrior who dedicated himself to helping others and into making good trouble in the face of injustice and inequity. A good example of his good trouble was when he joined the original group of freedom riders who fought to desegregate the U.S Interstate Bus System,” he said. “Congressman Lewis and his wife were tireless advocates for MARTA because they understood the significant role the public transit plays in providing opportunity.
In fact, Greenwood said on MARTA’s 30th anniversary, Congressman Lewis said, “Marta is a shining example of what can be done.
“We wouldn’t be the capital of the American South if we hadn’t had MARTA,” Greenwood said.
The event is part of a year-long celebration of Black history featuring Atlanta Civil Rights icons on a series of special buses. In the past, MARTA has honored icons like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Juanita Jones Abernathy, and Coretta Scott King.
“These buses have given us the opportunity to celebrate the profound contributions the black community has made to our transit agency, to Atlanta and to the world. MARTA history is Black History,” he said.
Also, during the event, a voter registration drive, conducted as part of National Voter Registration Month, was held after the bus unveiling and short program.
Fulton and Clayton County Offices of Registration & Elections were on-site to conduct voter registration and education from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m.
“Lewis also spent his life advocating for voting rights, so what better way to honor him than to host a voter registration project,” Greenwood said. “There will also be events this upcoming Tuesday, Sept. 17 at seven of our railroad stations to honor national voter registration day to raise widespread awareness and promote voter registration.”
“We are excited to partner with MARTA on this special ‘John Lewis Bus’ and on the voter registration drive,” said Detria Everson, president and CEO of the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation. “Congressman Lewis was inspired by the work of Rosa Parks and others to integrate transit systems across the country. He would be proud to know that a MARTA bus with his pictures and quotes was serving constituents he represented in Congress.”
The unveiling of the bus isn’t just a bus, Everson said, but it’s a “symbol of progress and perseverance.”
The deadline for voter registration is October 7. Early voting in Georgia begins on Oct. 15 and Election Day is November 5. To register to vote or for more information, visit https://georgia.gov/register-vote. To check your voter registration status, visit https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/mvp-landing-page.
Martin Luther King Jr. on the power of voting – CBS News
With Martin Luther King Jr. Day falling on the same day as the first contest in the 2024 GOP primaries, we take a look back at King’s own words on the power of voting.
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Two retired New York City Police Department officers, and brothers, were honored Saturday for their role in helping halt an arson attack on the Atlanta birth home of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.
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A 26-year-old woman was taken into custody Thursday on allegations she tried to set fire to the birth home of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta.
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Authorities said a 26-year-old woman has been arrested on allegations she attempted to set fire Thursday night to the Atlanta birth home of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
According to a statement from Atlanta police, at about 5:45 p.m., the suspect poured gasoline on the property, located at 501 Auburn Ave., but was stopped by multiple witnesses from proceeding any further.
Responding officers detained the woman at the scene, police said. She is being held on suspicion of criminal attempted arson and second-degree interference with government property.
Her name was not released. No further details on the incident were immediately provided.
The home was acquired for preservation by the National Parks Service from the King family in 2018, and had been open for public tours through last month, when it was closed for an “extensive renovation project” that is not expected to be completed until November of 2025.
In a statement Tuesday night, the King Center wrote that “an individual attempted to set fire to this historic property. Fortunately, the attempt was unsuccessful, thanks to the brave intervention of good Samaritans and the quick response of law enforcement.”
FILE — People line up to tour the birth home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 27, 2019.
Faris Tanyos is a news editor for CBSNews.com, where he writes and edits stories and tracks breaking news. He previously worked as a digital news producer at several local news stations up and down the West Coast.
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On August 28, 1963, The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom drew a quarter of a million people to the nation’s capital in order to protest racial discrimination and advocate for equal rights and opportunities for Black citizens. It is rightly considered a milestone in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and remains a perpetual source of inspiration and courage. It also led to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which the U.S. Department of Labor describes as prohibiting “discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.”
A consortium of activists, labor unions, and community leaders organized the March, which culminated at the Lincoln Memorial. Speeches were given by, among others, future Congressman John Lewis, Walter Reuther, head of the United Auto Workers, and – most memorably – the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. King’s words ring out through the decades:
Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is
the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation
to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our
nation from the quicksands of racial injustice…
In the course of Dr. King’s remarks, Gospel Singer Mahalia Jackson called out, “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” Dr. King put aside his prepared text and – speaking informally and directly from the heart – did just that.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons
of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be
able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a
dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state
sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of
oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and
justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day
live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of
their skin but by the content of their character.
America has made great strides toward realizing Dr. King’s dream – but has also signally failed to live up to its potential as a haven for all. The current state of the Body Politic, wracked with hatred and ignorance, is proof positive that his good work is not yet done.
One very important means of continuing his work is by exercising the right to vote. If you doubt the power of voting, look at the many ways the enemies of freedom attempt to steal, subvert, or destroy it.
Therefore, it is fitting that on November 3rd, 2023 (Election Day), Netflix will premiere Rustin at in select theatres across America. The film – Executive Producers: Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions – is based on the life of Black leader and activist Bayard Rustin (1912-1987). One of the main organizers of the August 1963 March on Washington, Rustin’s story is not only about race and politics. As a gay Black man, he faced additional challenges in both white and African-American communities.
Directed by DGA award and five-time Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) and starring Emmy Award winner Colman Domingo, Rustin shines a long overdue spotlight on the extraordinary man who, alongside giants like the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and Ella Baker, dared to re-envision our entire world, and ignited a movement with a mighty march toward freedom. Produced by Academy Award winner Bruce Cohen, Higher Ground’s Tonia Davis, and George C. Wolfe, the film features an all-star cast including Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Jeffrey Wright, and Audra McDonald.
Julia Roberts has revealed a unique story about her birth — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, paid for her parents’ hospital bill after she was born.
During a September interview with Gayle King for History Channel’s “HISTORYTalks” series, Roberts spoke about her family’s unexpected connection to the two historical figures.
“The King family paid for my hospital bills,” Roberts said.
“Not my family,” joked Gayle King, since she has the same surname as the civil rights leader. “Martin Luther King Jr.”
Today is Julia Roberts birthday! 55 years ago MLK and Coretta Scott King paid for her parents hospital bill after she was born. Can’t stop thinking about this since I read it. Here she is talking about it with @GayleKinghttps://t.co/5HvpNSUIYbpic.twitter.com/147x6d807W
Roberts explained that her parents, Walter and Betty Lou Roberts, had owned a theater school in Atlanta called the Actors and Writers Workshop. Coretta Scott King asked if her kids could be enrolled in the school, since they were having troubling finding other places that would accept her kids.
“And so, they just all became friends and they helped us out of a jam,” said Roberts, who was born on October 28, 1967 and turned 55 last week.
“Yeah, because in the ’60s you didn’t have little Black children interacting with little White kids in acting school,” said Gayle King, who also co-hosts “CBS Mornings.” “And your parents were like, ‘Come on in.’ And I think that’s extraordinary and it lays the ground work for who you are.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was from Atlanta and became one of the most prominent civil rights leaders in the United States. With nonviolent protests, Martin Luther King Jr. helped lead the movement to advance the rights of people of color. Less than six months after Roberts was born, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, which was followed by a day of national mourning.
The interview went viral this week after business adviser Zara Rahim tweeted a clip of it to honor Roberts on her recent birthday.
Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Coretta Scott and Martin Luther King Jr., also tweeted a clip of the interview on Sunday, saying that she was “grateful” that Roberts told the story and that “so many people have been awed by it.”
“I know the story well, but it is moving for me to be reminded of my parents’ generosity and influence,” she added.
The “HISTORYTalks” series began in 2019 and each year features live talks with several high profile speakers. This year, former President George W. Bush, former First lady Laura Bush and George and Amal Clooney were among the speakers.
