Friday Night at the Museum

Alton Museum of History & Art’s August 9^th, 2013 “Friday Night at the Museum” features   Daniel Brannan, Executive Editor of the Telegraph, and Ande Yakstis, Award-winning journalist. The topic is their book about Martin Luther King Jr. and the march on Selma titled “You Can't Kill The Dream: People Living The Dream.” 

The two prize-winning writers tell the amazing stories of people who are living King's dream today, 45 years after the civil rights leader's death on April 4, 1968.

The reader will experience the illuminating story of Joe Scott, a player in the old Negro baseball league. The 92-year-old Scott was a hero and mentor to young baseball players of the Memphis Redbirds, a St. Louis Cardinals Triple-A team affiliate. His happy smile and home runs on the baseball field in the 1950's brought sunshine into the lives of black people living under the shadow of racial inequality.

In the book, the reader will experience the heart-warming story of little Johnnie Turner, who was four-years old when she clung to the hands of her father and mother in a daring escape from the bondage of an owner of a white sharecropper farm. The reader will feel the emotion of a little girl who rose from the poverty of a two-room farm shack to be a voice for human rights in the Tennessee State Legislature.

Authors Yakstis and Brannan unveil the personal story of Rev. Samuel "Billy" Kyles who shares the precious moments he spent with Rev. Martin Luther King on the final day of his life. Through the words of Rev. Kyles, the reader will feel the emotion and hear some of the thoughts spoken by King in the last hours of his life.

Kyles was standing next to King when he was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorrine Motel in Memphis on April 4, 1968. Today, Rev. Kyles shares King's vision for peace and equality with people across the country.

The book will be available and can be purchased for $15.  Some of the proceeds will go to scholarships to help needy students find a career in life.

“Friday Nights at the Museum” has proved to be a very popular meeting place for history and art fans.  Everyone has a good time and enjoys the refreshments.  There is a charge of $5.00 for ADULTS and $1.00 for CHILDREN under 12.  Admittance is free with membership.  For information call 462-2763.

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