Rare MLK Documentary, African American History Exhibit Coming to Connecticut College

NEW LONDON, CT – An installation from Connecticut’s first and only dedicated African American history museum is coming to Connecticut College, Feb. 1–12. 

An opening reception will be held at 4 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 2, in the Charles E. Shain Library’s Chu Room.

The college in a news release said the two-week installation from the Stratford-based Ruby & Calvin Fletcher African American History Museum features curated artifacts, archival journalism and film that examine how Black stories have been told and who has been trusted to tell them. 

From preserved objects to media coverage and archival footage, the exhibit invites visitors to examine representation, memory and voice.

The exhibition is presented in partnership with the school’s Black Student Union (BSU) and made possible by the Sharis ’86 & Thorn ’88 Pozen Endowed Fund for Excellence in Journalism, Writing, and Media.

BSU Co-President Kyaira Hall described the installation as more than a display. 

“It’s an opportunity for our community to engage with how stories are preserved, whose voices are amplified, and what it means when history is told by those who lived it,” Hall said. 

Documentary Screening

The Feb. 2 opening reception includes a screening of a rare 45-minute documentary featuring never-before-seen footage of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., chronicling his life from his early involvement in the Civil Rights Movement through his final year.

The footage was discovered in a film canister marked only with the initials “MLK” and has no formal title, credits, or music. The uncut documentary is narrated by a photojournalist who chronicled Dr. King’s life in real time, offering an intimate, unfiltered perspective on one of history’s most documented figures.

Jeffrey Fletcher, founder and owner of the Ruby & Calvin Fletcher African American History Museum, will present the screening and provide context and remarks.

Founded to preserve and present African American history and culture, the Ruby & Calvin Fletcher African American History Museum’s collection includes artifacts, documents, photographs and media that chronicle the Black experience in Connecticut and beyond.

The exhibition is free and open to the public daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the entry level lobby foyer of the Charles E. Shain Library, 270 Mohegan Ave.