Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration 2013
Sponsored by the Alexandria Society for the Preservation of Black Heritage, Inc (ASPBH) and the Alexandria Black History Museum. This year's program and student exhibition are dedicated to the memory of Carlton Funn, Sr., who served for many years as the President of the ASPBH.
I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education, and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits… Martin Luther King, Jr.
Acceptance speech at the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony, December 10, 1964
Who is Martin Luther King, Jr.?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta Georgia. He attended Morehouse College, Crozer Theological Seminary and Boston University. He received his Ph.D. in 1953. In Boston, Dr. King met Coretta Scott whom he married on June 18, 1953. Dr. They had four children, two girls and two boys.
Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, Martin Luther King, Jr. became a minister. In 1954, he became pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama and joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a well-respected civil rights organization.
Dr. King was determined to end the discrimination faced by African Americans. As a result of racial segregation, African Americans in many parts of the United States could not be educated, eat, shop or use the same facilities that whites could. Dr. King and many other Americans, both black and white, risked their lives to end this inequality. Dr. King organized boycotts, marches and other forms of peaceful and non-violent protests to help African Americans gain equality. In 1957, Dr. King was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to promote the civil rights movement.
In 1963, Dr. King was named Man of Year by Time Magazine. In 1964, he became the youngest man (at 35) to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. His legacy lives on in his speeches and in the many people, all over the world, who work to make their communities a better place.
There is so much more to learn about Martin Luther King, Jr.
This year's program and student exhibition are dedicated to the memory of Carlton Funn, Sr., who served for many years as the President of the ASPBH.
- When: Saturday, January 19, 1-3 pm
- Where: Alexandria Black History Museum, 902 Wythe Street
- RSVP: By January 17, 2013. Call 703.746.4356
Teaching about Martin Luther King, JR.
The following resources are recommended for Alexandria City Public School teachers, in preparing classes on the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Websites
Books
- Martin's Big Words, by Dorreen Rappaport
- A Picture Book of MLK, by David Adler
- The Story of MLK, by Johnny Ray Moore
- If You lived at the Time of Martin Luther King, by P. Odik Levine
If you have suggestions for other additions to this page, please contact the Alexandria Black History Museum or call the Museum at 703.746.4706.
Student Poster Exhibition: "Remember, Celebrate, Act - Dr. King's Dream for Our World"
The Alexandria Society for the Preservation of Black Heritage, Inc. and the Alexandria Black History Museum are sponsoring a Student Poster Exhibition for Alexandria City Public School students, Grades 2-5.
Carlton A. Funn, Sr. was born in Alexandria, Virginia on January 29, 1932. He graduated from Parker-Gray High School in 1949, thereafter matriculating to Storer College in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia where he earned his B. A. in Elementary Education. Following college, Mr. Funn joined the U.S. Army, serving at various posts both at home and abroad. Later, Mr. Funn returned to school and obtained his Master's Degree in Education from Virginia State University in Petersburg. He was married to Joan Berry Funn for 49 years and was the father of three children – Carlton, Jr., Tracye. and Marc Funn. Mr. Funn passed away on September 11, 2012.
Carlton Funn was dedicated to Alexandria and to the preservation of Alexandria's African American heritage. During his 38-year teaching career, he made sure the contributions of African Americans were given equal consideration in his classroom and beyond. At the start of his teaching career, he found his students had to use the same Virginia history textbook he did years ago, one depicting slaves as happy and content. Thereafter, Carlton Funn made it his mission to make sure African American history was not forgotten and that the correct story was told and preserved. Over the years, he collected Black memorabilia and created traveling exhibitions featuring the contributions of minority groups in America. As the founder and president of National/International Cultural Exhibits, Inc., he presented exhibits over 500 times and in 13 states over the course of 52 years.
Mr. Funn was extremely active in the Alexandria community, holding memberships and serving as a leader in a number of the city's organizations and institutions, including the Alfred Street Baptist Church, the Alexandria NAACP, the Alexandria Democratic Committee, Jack & Jill of America, and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. For many years, Carlton Funn served as the president of the Alexandria Society for Preservation of Black Heritage (ASPBH). The ASPBH has sponsored the Martin Luther King, Jr. Poster Contest for over 20 years. This year the ASPBH's program and exhibition of artwork is dedicated to his memory.
(Sources: Obituary of Carlton Allyn Funn, Sr., Alexandria, VA, September 18, 2012; Megan McDonough, "Carlton A. Funn Sr., 80: Teacher Built History Exhibit," The Washington Post, September 30, 2012, C7)
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