| 01/18/10 11:27 AM |
#1158
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Donald Chandler
Like Gary, I too wish everyone a great MLK Day. This day reminds me of a couple of personal stories involving MLK Jr. and the King Family which I will share below. If you find my stories boring, feel free to move on to the next post.
Story One: I was 23 years old, young and liberal in 1973 when I began work for the City of Atlanta. As the staff Graphic Designer/Artist/Photographer for the Model Cities Progarm, I was never quite sure what I would be called on to do. Our offices were on the south side of Atlanta in the black community, on Capitol Avenue across the street from Fulton County Stadium (where Turner Field now stands). My best estimate is that my office was located about where the right field stands are now. One day my boss asked me to accompany her to a business meeting in the community. When we got there I discovered that the two of us were meeting with Coretta Scott King in her office on Beckwith Street. This was about six years after Dr. King was assassinated in 1968, our senior year. I must admit that I was a bit intimidated meeting Mrs. King and don't remember much of the conversation. But we discussed the upcoming Fourth Annual Benefit Concert celebrating the 46th anniversary of the birthday of Dr. King on January 15, 1975. I was given the responsibility of doing a portrait of Dr. King for the cover of the concert program. The concert at the Omni was highlighted by master of ceremonies Harry Belafonte, music legend Marvin Gaye and special guest Muhammed Ali. I later did another portrait of Dr. King, a pen and ink drawing for the cover of a brochure we produced for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center on Auburn Avenue.
Story Two: As the staff photographer, I was often called on to go out into the Model Cities community to take photos. Mayor Maynard Jackson and members of the King family… Coretta, Daddy King (Dr. King’s father… a sweet old man) and the King children were often at these events… groundbreakings, ribbon cuttings, open houses, etc. One Sunday afternoon I had to attend the Dedication of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in the Model Cities Area. I was taking photographs of the ceremony, and Coretta and other members of the King Family were there along with the Mayor and a Who’s Who of politicians of the day. They were speaking to an audience in the central commons area of the school, a large open interior amphitheater with tiered seating. After taking lots of pictures, I sat down in the audience to take a break. I was one of very few whites there and I guess I stuck out like a sore thumb. Anyway, this young black fellow came over and sat down right next to me and asked “what the hell I was doing.” He seemed a bit agitated, and I had this very bad, uncomfortable feeling immediately but tried to stay cool. I had my camera in my hand, and I told him that I was going to "take a few more shots and go home" Well, I guess that was a bad choice of words in hindsight. He grabbed me around the neck in a head lock and wrestled me to the floor, bringing an abrupt halt to the official ceremonies going on with the King Family. Fortunately there was plenty of security there and they immediately came to the rescue and pulled him off of me and took him away. The police questioned the man who assaulted me and it seems that when I told him I “was going to take a few more shots,” he was a bit confused and thought I was going to assassinate the King Family. The police questioned me too and asked if I wanted to file assault charges against the fellow. But I decided not to, and I was just thankful he didn't have a knife or gun. The next day at work, my little assaault episode was the talk of the entire office.
Reporting live from Marietta… and looking for somebody to shoot… this is Don.
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