Joliet church displays historic photo of Martin Luther King Jr.
By Tony Graf tgraf@stmedianetwork.com January 15, 2012 8:28PM
Updated: February 17, 2012 8:14AM
JOLIET — Sacred Heart Catholic Church this weekend displayed a historic photo of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with the president of the University of Notre Dame at a Chicago civil rights rally in 1964.
On Monday, the nation observes Martin Luther King Day, remembering the civil rights leader of the 1950s and 1960s. The lesson in Joliet was made possible by several people who honor King’s work — and whose life history has chapters in Joliet and Notre Dame.
On June 21, 1964, King participated in the Illinois Rally for Civil Rights at Soldier Field in Chicago. The photograph shows him with the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, who was president of Notre Dame from 1952 to 1987.
The large photograph viewed at Sacred Heart this weekend was presented last fall to Joe and Jodie Adler, honoring the Joliet-area couple.
Joe Adler attended St. Raymond School, Joliet Catholic High School and Notre Dame. He helped found Will County Habitat for Humanity, and helped in the establishment of the Center for Social Concerns at Notre Dame. The center has the King photograph on display. Jodie is a graduate of St. Francis Academy in Joliet and St. Mary’s College at Notre Dame.
Two leaders
King’s life paths that brought him to Chicago in 1964 are a vital part of American history.
“In 1954, upon completion of graduate studies at Boston University, he accepted a call to serve at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. While there, he was an instrumental leader in the Montgomery Bus Boycott,” according to the King Day website, www.mlkday.gov.
“He resigned this position in 1959 to move back to Atlanta to direct the activities of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. From 1960 until his death in 1968, he also served as co-pastor with his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church.”
On Aug. 28, 1963, King participated in the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
The march and the speech helped create momentum for the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The photo of King and Hesburgh, in June 1964, was taken shortly before the Civil Rights Act was signed into law by President Johnson on July 2, 1964.
Hesburgh, now 94, is highly honored for his contributions to education and civil rights.
In the 1950s, President Eisenhower appointed Hesburgh to serve on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. Hesburgh later served as chairman from 1969 to 1971.
Northern effort
The history behind the photograph of the two leaders is given at a display at Notre Dame.
Marty Gleason — who attended St. Raymond School, Joliet Catholic High School and Notre Dame — supplied the text to The Herald-News on Friday:
“After a number of awareness activities were held across Southern states, Dr. King took his message to the North. ... In 1965, the SCLC partnered with the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations, the largest civil rights organization in the North,” the text states.
“This combined effort, whose purpose was to bring attention to Blacks living in substandard conditions in Chicago, became known as the Chicago Freedom Movement,” the text states.
“Plans were made for a rally to serve as a public kickoff of the action phase of the Chicago Freedom Movement,” the text states.
“The rally accomplished its goal of raising awareness,” the text states. “In the months following the event, Dr. King met a number of city officials and community representatives.”
Joliet remembers
On Sunday, the photo was to be displayed at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on South Ottawa Street in Joliet. This weekend and Monday are a time for Joliet and all of America to remember King’s achievements.
Scheduled speakers on Sunday included Raymond Bolden, a former Will County judge who is well known for his service to the community and his work in civil rights; the Rev. Raymond Lescher, pastor at Sacred Heart, who also is well known for his work in civil rights; and Gleason, who helped make the display possible, working with fellow alumni of Joliet and Notre Dame.
Gleason credits Chuck and Joan Lennon. Chuck, a Joliet Catholic High School and Notre Dame graduate, is former director of the Notre Dame Alumni Association. Chuck helped create the large photograph display for the Adlers.
Gleason also credits Dr. Jim and Betsy Kennedy, who suggested the Adlers be honored. Jim is a graduate of St. Raymond School, Joliet Catholic High School and Notre Dame. Betsy is a graduate of St. Mary’s College.
For more information about historic places of the Civil Rights Movement — from Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
to the Lincoln Memorial — visit the National Park Service website at
www.nps.gov.
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