Martin Luther King Jr. Visits Marathon County

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Visit to Wausau, May 12, 1967.

On May 12th, 1967, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came to speak at Wausau, Wisconsin. It was part of “Center Week,” held at the end of the semester by the Marathon County Center University (UWSP at Wausau), which featured speakers and programs on a number of topics. But certainly the most important and memorable speaker at the “convocation” over the program’s life has been the participation of Martin Luther King Jr. 

MLK was by 1967, well known across the world for his efforts to bring about change through peaceful non-violent protest. This work had led to a successful shift in the civil rights movement in America, which helped to end segregation as well as landmark bills protecting voting rights. In his 1967 speech given at the Youth Administration Building at Marathon Park, he announced that racial segregation was “dead as a doornail and the only thing uncertain about it is how costly, some of our friends like former-Governor Wallace and others will make the funeral.” And yet, MLK continued to say that “We still have a long, long way to go, before the problem of racial injustice is solved in our country.”

MLK’s visit was part of an extensive campaign to educate the American public as to the realities and necessity of the work he was engaged in. He believed that for racial injustice to be truly addressed in America, it would mean a national effort to change the social and economic realities caused by generations of segregation and prejudices.  And so he had not come to Wisconsin to organize protests or address local examples of racial inequality. But rather, he had come to educate the people of Marathon County as to what was happening, and why it was necessary to support national efforts to address racial inequality even after the impending end of segregation.

Martin Luther King’s visit to Wausau in 1967 was a minor footnote in the larger picture of his life and legacy. But for those who attended Center Week’s convocation in 1967, and for those of us who came later, the appearance of MLK in Wausau is still an important moment. It shows that locals here were keenly aware of the important events happening at the time, and our desire to better understand them.

Listen to MLK's Speach in Wausau

.

Photoraphs and audio recording courtacy of UWSP Archives and Michael Kleinschmidt-Kleinschmidt Georgraphic.