Coretta Scott King observes the program from her seat with actor Harry Belafonte and members of her family: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This black and white photograph shows the King family seated inside Ebenezer Baptist Church for Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday commemoration in 1969. The King family is seated in the center of the photograph. Harry Belafonte is seated to the proper left of Coretta Scott King and there are two unidentified woman to the proper left of Belafonte. On the other side of Coretta Scott King, Alberta and Martin Luther King Sr. are seated before the end of the row. There is a row of press seated in front of the family as well as standing in the aisle behind them. Other attendees are behind the press and the family. The back of the photograph has a manufacturer's mark.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: January 15, 1969; printed 2011
• Photograph by: Horace C. Henry, American, born 1948
• Subject of: Coretta Scott King, American, 1927 - 2006
• Subject of: Harry Belafonte Jr., American, 1927 - 2023
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Subject of: Alberta King, American, 1904 - 1974
• Subject of: Rev. Martin Luther King Sr, American, 1899 - 1984
• Printed by: Unidentified
• Type: inkjet prints
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm)
• Place captured: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Baptist
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Religion
• Topic: Religious rituals and ceremonies
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2011.94.28
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Horace C. Henry
• 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: © Horace Henry Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.