Documentary reflects on MLK’s visit to Mankato during civil rights movement

A visit by Martin Luther King Jr. to Mankato during the civil rights movement is the focus of a documentary premiering Monday.

The film, “MLK 11.12.61,″ features an archival recording of a sermon delivered by King on Nov. 12, 1961, as well as interviews with Mankato residents who saw him that day. The 50-minute film will have a free screening at 6 p.m. Monday at Minnesota State Mankato’s Ostrander Hall.

King visited Mankato as part of efforts to raise awareness in northern states about civil rights. The trip was unusual, as King did not normally visit cities as small as Mankato at the time, said Jameel Haque, director of the Kessel Peace Institute and professor in Minnesota State Mankato’s Department of History.

King gave two sermons at Centenary United Methodist Church and a speech at Mankato High School, in the auditorium of what is now Mankato West High School. A recording of his words that day, recorded by KMSU, a college radio station, forms the heart of the documentary.

“Listening to that speech … it gives you a chill to hear him,” Haque said, adding that King’s visit to Mankato decades ago continues to inspire local social justice activists.

While Mankato provided King with a warm welcome in 1961, the documentary also discusses whether Minnesota has lived up to the lofty goals advocated by the civil rights leader. Director Ryan Sturgis said he wanted people to use King’s visit to understand issues in the present.

The film was produced by Sturgis’ True Façade Pictures in Mankato and the Kessel Peace Institute at Minnesota State Mankato.

A 30-minute panel discussion with people featured in the film follows the screening on Monday night, as well as a presentation of the Greater Mankato Diversity Council’s Pathfinder Awards, which honor activists in the region.