Dr. King Visit to Seattle Archives | South Seattle Emerald

by Susan Fried and Phil Manzano

Seattle celebrated the 60th anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s visit to Seattle over the weekend in song, recognition, and celebration.

The three-day event, held by the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM), hosted Dr. King’s oldest son, Martin Luther King III, at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, where America’s civil rights leader of the 1960s stayed on his only visit to Seattle.

Saturday, Nov. 6, at Garfield High School where Dr. King spoked to packed audiences 60 years ago, NAAM announced the first group to be inducted into the Circle of Elders, “exceptional Black community leaders over the age of 75 who have led and won victories in the struggle for civil rights, social equity, and opportunity in Seattle’s Central District and greater Pacific Northwest.”

Other events included a prayer vigil at Mount Zion Baptist Church featuring local clergy and culminated in King III’s keynote address at the University of Washington.

“Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s most inspirational affirmation was hope for a better tomorrow and a brighter future for everyone. It was that hope that mobilized the Civil Rights Movement, and it is that very same hope that continues to shape efforts today to create Dr. King’s vision for a more equitable society,” states NAAM’s MLK60 website.

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by Agueda Pacheco Flores

Exactly 60 years ago, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. checked into the very same hotel where Monday, Nov. 8, his eldest son stood, echoing his father’s dreams of a more equitable country.

“I wasn’t given any guidance exactly in terms of how long to speak, so how long do y’all have?” Martin Luther King III said to laughter under a crystal chandelier at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, surrounded by media.

King III’s visit to Seattle culminates the Northwest African American Museum’s (NAAM) three-day event MLK60, which commemorates the 60th anniversary of Dr. King’s visit to Seattle in 1961. Like his own visit through Seattle then, the three-day event was packed with activities including an opening ceremony, vaccine drive, and book giveaway at Garfield High School on Saturday, as well as a community and performance event at the historic Mount Zion Baptist Church.

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