University Archives Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. (left) walks through campus with then-Chancellor
Franklin Murphy during King’s visit to UCLA in
1965.
By Christian Mignot
Daily Bruin Contributor
On April 28, 1965 ““ one month after he led 25,000
demonstrators in the final stretch of a march from Montgomery to
Selma, Ala. ““ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. traveled to UCLA to
deliver a speech to an eager crowd at the bottom of Janss
Steps.
The hot spring morning did not deter the crowd of about 5,000
students, faculty and community members from arriving ““ some
students even slept overnight in Ackerman Union to make sure that
they snared tickets for the event.
For more than an hour, King delivered a powerful speech about
race relations, poverty and nonviolence. He called for laws to
protect the rights of African Americans, including the passing of a
voting rights bill, which President Lyndon B. Johnson would sign
five months later.
 University Archives Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr., who practiced nonviolent forms of protest, devoted
his life to campaigning for civil rights in the United States.
“We’ve broken loose from the Egypt of slavery, and we
have moved into the wilderness of legal segregation,” King
said to the crowd. “Now we stand on the border of the
promised land of integration.”
After delivering the speech, three students presented King with
a donation of almost $750, which had been raised by the student
body to support his efforts in the South.
As many take time out this holiday weekend to reflect upon
King’s life and his message, some recall the Tuesday when he
spoke at UCLA.
Lyle Timmerman, the executive officer of Student and Campus
Life, was present at the time of King’s speech.
 University Archives Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. speaks before a crowd of roughly 5,000 students,
faculty and staff near the bottom of Janss Steps on April 27,
1965.
“Dr. King’s speech was very moving and
inspirational,” he said. “It was delivered at a time
when the campus was very politically active, and the crowd was
receptive and supportive.”
Frederick Eiserling, the dean of life sciences who joined the
faculty in 1965 after King made his visit, recalls the impact the
speech had on the campus.
“The whole campus was very stimulated by his visit,”
Eiserling said.
“Students and faculty were paying a great deal of
attention to what he had to say, and he definitely had an impact on
the thinking of all those who were present.”