1960 MLK visit to be memorialized with Heritage Wall plaque Sept. 5

Greencastle has attracted some remarkable people to its environs over the years. None is more iconic than the legendary civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On Saturday, Sept.5, which is 60 years to the day of his visit to Greencastle, there will be a pair of events commemorating his appearance here and the speech he gave at Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church.

At noon, the Heritage Preservation Society of Putnam County (HPS) in partnership with Gobin Church and Greencastle NAACP, will dedicate a plaque to Dr. King on the Heritage Wall on Vine Street at the corner of Washington Street in downtown Greencastle. The keynote speaker will be Lori White, newly-installed president of DePauw University. Even as her inaugural semester at the school is just commencing, she is already demonstrating that she is a bona fide member of the Greencastle community.

Opening remarks will be offered by Cammie Goldman, president of HPS. Other speakers will be Russell Harvey, president of Greencastle NAACP and Pastor Bryan Langdoc of Gobin, who will share a message from the Indiana Conference of the Methodist Church.

In addition, 17-year-old Dayan Martinez, a member of the Putnam County Greater Good, the youngest appointee to the Human Rights Commission and an active participant in the peaceful protests held at the Courthouse Square, will take part. He will read the letter written by John Lewis, longtime congressman and close associate of Dr. King’s, which was published in the New York Times the day of his funeral. Lewis addressed how the recent nonviolent activism of the younger generation inspired him in his last days.

Live music will be provided by popular local duo Him & Her, aka. Tosh and Joel Everson.

In 1960, Dr. King was invited to Greencastle to be a featured speaker at the annual “School for the Prophets” held by the Indiana Methodist Church at Gobin, on the DePauw campus. In the wake of the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott, which he led, he had become a founder and the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Many years later, his older son, Martin Luther King III, appeared at DePauw as part of the Ubben lecture series in November 2013. At that time, he reflected on the 50th anniversary of both his father’s seminal “I have a Dream” speech given at the March on Washington and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. His talk took place at Meharry Hall in East College, which is located about 100 yards from where his father had spoken at Gobin.

There will be a partial street closure of the Vine Street block to enable social-distancing for attendees to the plaque dedication while still permitting access to the city parking lot. The neighboring Masonic temple is also graciously allowing overflow use of its property to prevent crowding. Naturally, all are expected to respect the Indiana state mask mandate.

For those who would prefer to watch virtually, a video of the plaque dedication will be available beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. on Channel 3, as well as on the Facebook pages of HPS, Greencastle NAACP, Gobin Church and the DePauw Center for Spiritual Life.