‘We Shall Overcome’

Boca resident wins auction for timeless speech by Martin Luther King.

The original transcript of the Martin Luther King Jr. speech containing the resonant phrase, “we shall overcome,” has been acquired by a former owner of the Kansas City Royals baseball team.

Avron B. Fogelman, a philanthropist, real estate developer and Boca Raton resident, paid $382,000 for the 20-page document, which is mostly typewritten. The first 19 pages contain numerous handwritten notes by the late civil rights leader. The final page, where the famous phrase resides, is almost entirely in his handwriting.

“There are not many more significant artifacts from the 20th century than the 20-page, personally owned speech by Martin Luther King Jr. — written in his own handwriting,” Fogelman said in an email to the Sun Sentinel. “I am fortunate to own it and I am sure it will end up some day in a museum for others to enjoy and learn from it.”

“We Shall Overcome” — a phrase from a gospel song — concluded the speech King delivered on July 6, 1965, to the General Synod of the United Church of Christ in Chicago. He included the famous phrase in several speeches, including his final sermon on March 31, 1968, just days before he was assassinated on April 4 in Memphis.

Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin Auctions, said he could not disclose the seller’s name. But he said he believed the previous owner possessed the document for more than 30 years. The speech had been on display in a museum, Goldin said.

Fogelman, who owns a home in Memphis, was among five bidders for the speech, which fetched the largest sum for a historical item sold by Goldin Auctions, a New jersey firm. According to the auction house, other original speeches delivered by King have been appraised in the millions of dollars. The current owner of King’s “I Have A Dream” speech has turned down $5 million for that historic document.

Other items sold at the auction that ended in late April, included a white robe worn by boxer Muhammad Ali — who fought as Cassius Clay at the time. The robe, bearing the words, “The Greatest” embroidered in red letters across the back, was the one Ali donned before his famous Miami Beach fight against Sonny Liston in 1964.

The robe attracted nine bids before closing at a final price of $255,000.