SAN DIEGO — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited San Diego a handful of times and agreed to one-on-one interviews with CBS 8 while he was here. In honor of the holiday celebrating Dr. King on Monday, we searched our archives and found two of those interviews. One from 1962 hasn't been seen since it aired nearly 60 years ago.
King's trips to San Diego were short on time but long on meaning as he spoke to garner support for the civil rights movement.
In this newly discovered video from our CBS 8 archives, Dr. King spoke in 1962 with our respected, longtime anchor Harold Keen.
On the subject of voter suppression in the South, Dr. King said:
“We still have a great deal of opposition. All types of conniving methods are still being used such as complex literacy tests, intimidation and threats, and in some instances, economic reprisals are taken out against Negroes who seek to register and to vote. And I’m sure that the Justice Department will have to be vigilant and work with determination to end this if we are going to be successful.”
King returned to San Diego in 1964 - a year after his "I Have a Dream" speech. He spoke to packed houses at San Diego State and Cal Western University - which is now the site of Point Loma Nazarene - and again he made time for a one-on-one interview with Keen.
"Dr. King, your rented cottage in St. Augustine Florida was hit by bullets earlier today. Does that indicate a new outbreak of violence in the civil rights struggle?" Keen asked.
“Well, it does indicate that there are still recalcitrant forces alive in the South that will do anything to prevent integration. We started a strong push to desegregate facilities in that, the oldest city in the United States, just last Wednesday and this is a result of the violent reaction to that move. The Klan is rather strong in that area and very active. I think this is the beginning of a reign of terror.
"Several acts of terror have taken place. Some of my staff members were beaten last night. They shot in their automobiles and then went and shot in the cottage that I had just rented for our staff for the months that we would be working there."
While Dr. King did encounter protestors on his trips to San Diego his stops were always peaceful and he promoted non-violent solutions including sit-ins which helped put an end to segregated lunch counters in the South.
"And you feel this is the best policy to follow - is non-violence rather than more direct action?" Keen asked King in 1962.
“I think that non-violence is a type of direct action, but it is not violent and it is not a bitter reaction. And I do feel non-violent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom and justice," Dr. King answered.
Additional silent footage of King's 1964 trip to San Diego can be seen in the clips below:
Martin Luther King Jr. speaks at San Diego State to garner support for the Civil Rights Act in 1964
Martin Luther King Jr. speaks at Cal Western in 1964 to garner support for Civil Rights Act