(relaxed electronic music) - Let's talk first about this holiday and I guess what it means at the Henry Ford, I think when a lot of people think of them, okay, holiday, they think of the Wright Museum in Midtown Detroit, but it's just as important at a place like the Henry Ford, tell us why.

- Absolutely, first of all, we're thrilled to be able to once again commemorate the amazing legacy of Dr.

King, and when you think about Dr.

King, he was just an ordinary person who did extraordinary things, and that's what we do at the Henry Ford, we tell those stories of amazing innovators, and he aligns no different than the Rosa Parks bus that we have, or the Kennedy limousine that we have, or the other stories of innovators and amazing people who just did... Ordinary people who just did extraordinary things, and it's also an opportunity for us to really highlight one of our collecting categories, which is social transformation, and the impact that Dr.

King had on changing the trajectory of our country is very important from an innovation standpoint, a history standpoint, and that's what we do at the Henry Ford.

- Yeah, yeah, so what will that look like on the 17th through the 19th?

- We've got a wonderful program, three days of programming, which as you mentioned, will start on the 17th, on the 17th, we will start with... We're going to have a play called "The Beginnings of the Boycott," and the significance of this play is that it tells the background story of arranging and organizing the movement and the boycott surrounding when Mrs.

Parks refused to give up her seat, and on December 1st, 1955 when she was arrested, we know that that first boycott had 40,000... Over 40,000 blacks who decided not to ride the buses, but after that, there was so much more significant planning because that one day was great, but it didn't have the impact, the full impact, so "The Beginnings of the Boycott," which was written by one of my colleagues, X. Alexander Durden, really tells the story of... That background story of organizing, and also highlights that moment where they appointed Dr.

King to be the leader of that boycott in that movement.

Following that, we'll also have... On the 18th, we'll have musical performances, we'll have Ashley Baylor, who's a local soprano, we'll have Sean Bird, who's a pianist, so we'll have music happening, and also on the 18th, we will have Dr.

Jeanne Theoharris, and Dr.

Theoharris is a world-renowned best-selling author, New York Times best-selling author and she wrote the book "King of the North," that's her most recent book, and "The King of the North" really highlights the impact of Dr.

King and his advocacy in the North, when we think of Dr.

King, we think about the South, but really he was very instrumental in many movements in the North, and Dr.

Theoharris is a strong advocate for telling that story, so on the 18th, she'll sit down with our curator of black history, Amber Mitchell, and we'll have a conversation about her book, but also about the overall impact of Dr.

King in the North.

- What do you hope that people who visit the Museum, you know, over the three days, are able to kind of take away from not just Dr.

King and the holiday, but also this sense of place with regard to Dr.

King, you know, being here in Southeast Michigan?

- You know, Stephen, we're really fortunate that Henry Ford... That we're in a position where we can really celebrate this important moment and Dr.

King, and so, what I hope people get from being here is a renewed sense of inspiration.

This is a tough time for many in our country right now and it was a tough time then, and Dr.

King, the organizers, many other civil rights advocates fought against what was a very challenging environment in our country, and so, I hope that people will learn, I hope that they will be inspired, and I hope they will understand that it took the work of ordinary people, and these were young people, Stephen, these were not people in their 50s and 60s, these were people in their 30s, and in many instances, people in their teens, college students who just did what they could do in their own personal capacity to try to affect change, and I think what's really special about the days that are coming up for the King holiday is that on Monday, January 19th, the Museum will be free admission, so everybody can come, and on that day, we will have for the first time on display, the chair that Dr.

King was sitting in on the day that he heard Lyndon Johnson's speech, "We shall overcome," which was signaling the impending signing of the Voting Rights Act, so that chair will live on in the Jackson home, which you know is a recent acquisition that we've acquired here that will open this summer, but the opportunity to just sort of get a glimpse of that chair and understand the magnitude of that moment, all the work that Dr.

King and his advocates and civil rights partners were doing in that very moment, he heard the president of the United States signal to him, and we have that chair, and when I see that chair, I am reminded of not only the great works of Dr.

King, but again, what ordinary people can do to affect change in our country.

by Ralph C. Wilson Jr.

Foundation, Michigan Health Endowment Fund, AARP Michigan, and by... - [Narrator] Across our Masco family of companies, our goal is to deliver better living possibilities and make positive changes in the neighborhoods where we live, work, and do business.

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A Michigan company since 1929.

- [Narrator] Support also provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit PBS.

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Through our giving, we are committed to meeting the needs of the communities we serve statewide to help ensure a bright and thriving future for all.

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