2006年VOA标准英语-Atlanta Group Buys Martin Luther King, Jr. Arch

By Kane Farabaugh
New York
03 July 2006
 
Watch MLK Archive report

A collection of historical materials belonging to civil rights activist¹ Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. has avoided the auction² block ... and found a permanent home in Atlanta.  VOA's Kane Farabaugh reports that the exhibit, currently on display in New York City, will reside at the college where King graduated thanks to a private donation.

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David Redden
  
During his career as Sotheby's vice³ chairman, David Redden sold a copy of the original Declaration of Independence. In early June, he sold the oldest American Flag, and was days away from adding 10,000 papers and books from Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. to his resume of important American artifacts to sell under his auction hammer.

"This is the most important private archive in American hands today," he says.

But a last minute effort by a group representing the city of Atlanta - King's hometown - saved this private archive from falling into the hands of the highest bidder⁴.

Handwritten notes from Martin Luther King, Jr.  
  
The collection comes from the King Center, and from the closets and storage space of Coretta Scott King's home after her husband's assassination⁵ in 1968.  It includes drafts of his sermons, notes from his speeches, and personal annotations⁶ throughout hundreds of books.

 
Elizabeth Muller
  
Elizabeth Muller, Vice President, Books And Manuscripts - Sotheby's says, "This is the most important non-presidential archive in American history for the 20th Century.  These documents chronicle a movement which changed the entire complexion⁷ of this country… and it was spearheaded by one single man."

The archive covers most of King's adult life, and provides insight into a civil rights movement that - for Reverend King - began in Montgomery and ended in Memphis.  Documents were written in hotel rooms, college dormitories and jail cells.

Two significant items are original drafts to his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize lecture, and the printed origins of what is now his landmark⁸ address at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963.

Four months after that speech, Reverend King would receive this Western Union telegram… inviting⁹ him to the funeral of President John F. Kennedy.

The archive also provides a look at Reverend King's busy life.  Hundreds of airline receipts, a briefcase¹⁰ with his initials, and his personal luggage and traveling kit¹¹ are also part of the collection.

"I asked one of the children, how on earth do you still have all of these, and he said well, mom was a pack rat," Redden says.

Coretta Scott King even saved the letters her husband was carrying the day he was killed in Memphis.  They are all part of the archive, intended to sell as one lot, that Sotheby's expected to command between $15 to $30 million. 

The city of Atlanta has not disclosed who actually paid for the archive, or how much the King family received for the collection.  Morehouse College, a historically black institution in Atlanta and Reverend King's alma mater, is the new home of this significant collection of 20th century American history.

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 bidder   

n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder.电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。
• The bidder withdrew his bid after submission of his bid.投标者在投标之后撤销了投标书。

5 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

6 annotations   

n.注释( annotation的名词复数 )；附注

参考例句：

• I wrote annotations in the margin of the book. 我在书的边缘作注。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• My annotations appear in square brackets. 在方括号里有我给的注解。 来自辞典例句

7 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

8 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

9 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

10 briefcase   

n.手提箱，公事皮包

参考例句：

• He packed a briefcase with what might be required.他把所有可能需要的东西都装进公文包。
• He requested the old man to look after the briefcase.他请求那位老人照看这个公事包。

11 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。