This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/17/2022
[KING, Dr. Martin Luther, Jr. (1929–1968)]. Walk to Freedom. 1963. Detroit: Wolverine Sign. Original lettered poster in black and red advertising the Walk to Freedom civil rights march which took place on 23 June 1963. 36 x 24”. Unbacked. Creases, stain at center left side, old pinholes. The Detroit Walk to Freedom march drew a crowd of over 125,000 people and was considered to be the largest civil rights march in history to that point. It was organized by the Reverends Clarence L. Franklin (father of singer Aretha Franklin) and Albert Cleage, who despite their divergent philosophies on civil rights together proposed a march to bring attention to the plight of African Americans in Detroit. This march was considered by many, including Dr. King himself, to be a precursor to the better-known March on Washington; King incorporated many elements of the speech he gave at the Detroit Walk for Freedom into his “I Have A Dream” speech delivered at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial only a few weeks later, including the iconic lines, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”