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Editor's note: This interview initially published in Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2024.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Nebraska Public Media remembers a visit Dr. King made to Lincoln on December 30, 1964.
From the stage at Pershing Auditorium, Dr. King spoke at the Methodist Student Movement Conference saying, “I need not pause to say how very delighted and honored I am to be here tonight and to be a part of this very significant conference.”
Assigned security for Dr. King was 25 year old Lincoln Police Officer Al Maxey.
"I told him there were not very many Black people in Lincoln and I think I talked about being one of two on the police department because he asked me about the police department," said Maxey.
Officer Maxey had been a Lincoln Police officer for three years when he was given the assignment to provide security for Dr. King.
You can hear Dr. King’s speech in Lincoln here.