Nightly News   |  August 22, 2012

MLK interview discovered in Tennessee attic

An audio recording of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. labeled Dec. 21, 1960, was found in a box in a Chattanooga, Tenn., home. The unusual interview included King discussing his activities in Africa. NBC’s Brian Williams reports.

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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>> a piece of american history we did not know we had has been discovered in a box in an attic in chattanooga, tennessee. it's reel to reel audiotape of an interview with dr. martin luther king , jr. listen to what he said about civil rights . as a young man of 30 years of age, this was recorded four days before christmas 1960 .

>> i'm convinced that when the history books are written in future years, historians will have to record this movement as one of the greatest epics of our heritage. i think the movement represents struggle on the highest level of dignity and discipline. no one of goodwill can disagree with the ends of the sit-in movement, the end to break down all the barriers between people on the basis of race, color.

>> the quality and clarity are perfect. in case you're wondering, the interview was recorded by a local insurance salesman who wanted to write a books on racism. it contains rare comments on the situation in africa right there. we put the complete audio on our