Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
On 7 December 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. addressed a packed audience at London’s City Temple Church, in an event organised by the British social justice group Christian Action. The previous day, King had preached to around 4,000 people at St Paul’s Cathedral, part of a whirlwind stopover in the UK capital as the civil rights leader travelled to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize.
In this excerpt from the City Temple address, King reflects on the rising sense of dignity and self‑respect among African Americans – connected to anti‑colonial movements in Africa and grounded in the conviction of equal, God‑given human worth. Speaking to a London crowd, he deliberately invoked the words of the English abolitionist poet William Cowper, written in 1788: “Fleecy locks and black complexion cannot forfeit nature’s claim; / Skins may differ, but affection dwells in white and black the same.”
Days later, on 10 December 1964, King would formally receive the Nobel Peace Prize in the Norwegian capital, in recognition of "his non-violent struggle for civil rights for the Afro-American population".
#MartinLutherKing #CivilRightsMovement #History #ArchiveFootage #London #ITNArchive #MLKDay #MartinLutherKingJrDay
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On 7 December 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. addressed a packed audience at London’s City Temple Church, in an event organised by the British social justice group Christian Action. The previous day, King had preached to around 4,000 people at St Paul’s Cathedral, part of a whirlwind stopover in the UK capital as the civil rights leader travelled to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize.
In this excerpt from the City Temple address, King reflects on the rising sense of dignity and self‑respect among African Americans – connected to anti‑colonial movements in Africa and grounded in the conviction of equal, God‑given human worth. Speaking to a London crowd, he deliberately invoked the words of the English abolitionist poet William Cowper, written in 1788: “Fleecy locks and black complexion cannot forfeit nature’s claim; / Skins may differ, but affection dwells in white and black the same.”
Days later, on 10 December 1964, King would formally receive the Nobel Peace Prize in the Norwegian capital, in recognition of "his non-violent struggle for civil rights for the Afro-American population".
#MartinLutherKing #CivilRightsMovement #History #ArchiveFootage #London #ITNArchive #MLKDay #MartinLutherKingJrDay
To license the footage featured in this clip, follow the link below:
gettyimages.co.uk/search/2/film?phrase=AS071264001*&sort=mostpopular&family=editorial
To search the ITN Archive collection on Getty Images, follow the link below:
gettyimages.co.uk/footage/itn
🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel (tap the bell icon and stay up to date with all the latest ITN Archive videos!) - youtube.com/@FrontlinebyITN
🎥 Follow us on Twitter - twitter.com/ITNArchive
🎥 Like us on Facebook - facebook.com/ITNArchiveITNP
🎥 Check out our TikTok - tiktok.com/@itnarchive1955
