1-17-11: Dr. Levi Watkins

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was born January 15, 1929. Today is the federal holiday honoring his life.

Dr. King was pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, from September 1954 to November 1959. Dr. Levi Watkins, who recently retired as a cardiac surgeon at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, attended Dexter Avenue during his youth, where he knew Dr. King and his family.

Today, we revisit Tom Hall’s 2008 conversation with Dr. Watkins 40 years after Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

Today is the Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service. Find out how you can honor his memory through service at mlkday.gov.