CBS Honors 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Death Next Week with Exclusive Interviews & More
By: Macon Prickett Mar. 30, 2018
The three surviving children of slain civil rights leader Martin LUTHER King Jr. will sit down together for an interview with CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller as part of CBS News' multi-platform coverage of the 50thanniversary of King's death. The interview will be broadcast Monday, April 2 and throughout the week on CBS THIS MORNING, the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH JEFF GLOR and CBSN, CBS News' 24/7 streaming news service.
Miller's conversation with Bernice, Dexter and Martin LUTHER King III is their first joint interview in 12 years since the death of their mother, Coretta Scott King. Miller spoke with them at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and the siblings discussed grieving their father and living up to his legacy. They talked about disagreements among them and revealed for the first time that President Jimmy Carter intervened to help mediate.
Dexter also told Miller that after his father died, he and his siblings looked to their mother's stoicism as an example of how to grieve, and he is still working through it.
"Our mom was so stoic, and she held everything together for all of us to be strong, but as a child, when you emulate that, in a real sense you're holding in your emotions," he said. "And so sometimes, you want to let things go, but you don't know how to. So I learned to grieve later, much later in life, and frankly, maybe even still dealing with some of the mourning and grief."
In addition to the interview with the Kings, CBS News will provide full coverage of the anniversary all week. Those plans include the following:
CBS SUNDAY MORNING (9:00 AM, ET)
As part of CBS SUNDAY MORNING's ongoing series on the year 1968, National Urban League President Marc Morial reflects on the final year, death and legacy of Dr. King in a conversation with his mother, Sybil Haydel Morial, this Sunday, April 1. She first met King while they were both graduate students at Boston University in the 1950s, and later she became involved with the civil rights movement in New Orleans.
CBS THIS MORNING (7:00-9:00 AM)
CBS THIS MORNING will broadcast a series of special interviews and reports, beginning with the King siblings interview Monday morning.
On Tuesday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, author and NBA Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and musician Trombone Shorty will reflect on the life and legacy of Dr. King. They talk about where we are in achieving his dream of justice and equality for all Americans and share their hopes for the next 50 years.
On Wednesday, CBS NEWS SPECIAL correspondent James Brown will co-anchor CBS THIS MORNING from the National Civil Rights Museum at the former Lorraine Motel in Memphis. He will share the story of the Prairie View A&M University choir that sang for Dr. King at the Lorraine Motel a few weeks before his death. Some of those choir members are returning to Memphis for the first time.
Also on Wednesday, CBS THIS MORNING co-hosts Gayle King, John Dickerson and Norah O'Donnell interview Dr. Lonnie Bunch, author, historian and director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, in New York.
CBS EVENING NEWS WITH JEFF GLOR (6:30-7:00 PM, ET)
The CBS EVENING NEWS WITH JEFF GLOR will feature extensive reports on the anniversary all week, in addition to live coverage from James Brown on Wednesday at the National Civil Rights Museum. The broadcast will also provide live updates across all time zones to incorporate the latest news, including coverage Wednesday of the moment of silence at 7:01 PM, ET, the time King was shot in 1968.
CBSN
CBSN, CBS News' 24/7 streaming news network, will have live coverage throughout the day on Wednesday, April 4.
CBS NEWSPATH
CBS Newspath will provide extensive coverage of all of the daylong tributes that will take place on Wednesday at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, the Martin LUTHER King Jr. Memorial in Washington, as well as other events across the United States.
CBS NEWS RADIO
CBS News Radio correspondent Steve Futterman will lead CBS News Radio's coverage of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin LUTHER King Jr. Futterman will be in Memphis in the days leading up to the April 4 anniversary and official tribute ceremony at the National Civil Rights Museum. CBS News Radio will provide affiliates coverage of a Monday night event honoring the surviving members of the sanitation union that was on strike when Dr. King visited Memphis in 1968. Futterman will also attend a Tuesday night event at the Mason Temple featuring Common and Danny Glover where Dr. King's final speech, "I've Been to the Mountaintop" will be commemorated. CBS News Radio will also deliver Special Reports from 4:30 PM, ET thru 7:50 PM, ET as well as live feeds from the events in Memphis, ATLANTA and Washington D.C. on Wednesday.
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