Preserving the Dream

Some of his other favorites include audiotapes of King, who at 35 was the youngest man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, along with speeches and books autographed by the likes of Coretta Scott King and other leaders of the civil rights movement; slavery freedom papers; and an original Harper's Weekly published in 1862 depicting a slave in shackles.

But it's the King items -- the tapes, typed speeches, buttons, posters and Life, Time and Ebony magazines with their dramatic pictures of King's face on the covers and African Americans enduring the turmoil of the 1950s and 1960s on the inside pages -- that are dear to Young's heart. It is through collections like his, he said, that people learn about the past.

"I think it's important for young people to be connected to civil rights history," Young said, adding that many are not fully aware of the sacrifices that King and other blacks made. Young people, he said, need to know what the previous generation obtained through their struggles so that they won't take their freedom and prosperity for granted.

Robert Hall, associate director of the Smithsonian Institution's Anacostia Community Museum, said private collectors such as Young are not uncommon. What makes a collection special, he said, is its breadth.

"If someone went to the march on Washington in 1963 and they kept a sign, or if they visited a sermon by King, they may have kept the program," Hall said, adding that it is the collector who seeks out additional pieces that tell a story who lifts a collection.

Except for family, friends and co-workers, Young said he does not share his collection with many people. Instead, he keep his pieces private, in his home, where he can study them and think back to that turbulent time.

But one day, he would like to see his collection, especially his King items, in a black history museum.

"It really is touching to know that someone shares that much admiration for King," said Barnes, of the Informer. "I think that the older we get, we realize the importance of King and how important it is to pass on that legacy. Otherwise, how will our children know?"