Legacy of a Dream: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A documentary short with the title Legacy of a Dream. It consists of a single reel of color 16mm acetate film with optical sound.

The film is an abridged version of the 180-minute Academy Award-nominated documentary King: A Filmed Record; Montgomery to Memphis. It comprises of mostly archival footage of Dr. King's non-violent protests and includes footage of his Montgomery bus boycott and the concomitant carpools that African Americans created, as well as the Ku Klux Klan's retaliation because of the boycott.

There is also footage of Dr. King being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964; footage from the Vietnam War and Dr. King's opposition of it; footage of the 1963 March on Washington; footage of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march; as well as footage of the 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom. Toward the end of the film, Mrs. Coretta Scott King makes an appearance, discussing the importance of black enfranchisement, while in the subsequent scene, Rep. Andrew Jackson Young can be seen talking to high school students about segregation.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1975
• Directed by: Richard Kaplan, American, 1925 - 2018
• Subject of: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., American, 1929 - 1968
• Written by: Richard Kaplan, American, 1925 - 2018
• Produced by: Richard Kaplan, American, 1925 - 2018
• Subject of: Coretta Scott King, American, 1927 - 2006
• Subject of: Andrew Young, American, born 1932
• Narrated by: James Earl Jones, American, 1931 - 2024
• Owned by: D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
• Type: documentaries
• Type: sound films
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: short subjects
• Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film
• Dimensions: Duration: 28 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 1000 Feet
• Place used: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Cultural Place: Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America
• Cultural Place: Alabama, United States, North and Central America
• Cultural Place: District of Columbia, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Documentary films
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Men
• Topic: Police brutality
• Topic: Prayer
• Object number: 2017.55.78.1a
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.