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Primary sourcePhotograph21 June 1964

Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh and Martin Luther King Jr. at the Illinois Rally for Civil Rights

Unidentified Chicago Tribune staff photographer · 21 June 1964

A 1964 photograph of King joined by clergy, including Theodore Hesburgh, singing 'We Shall Overcome' at a Chicago civil rights rally.

A primary photograph of King's interfaith civil rights coalition-building in Chicago.

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Black-and-white photograph of four men in suits standing in a row with linked arms, singing, in front of a long building with windows and flags. Second from left, a clergyman in a collar; third from left, a man with a lapel pin; far right, a clergyman in a collar holding a paper.
Chicago Tribune staff photographer, Hesburgh and King at the Illinois Rally for Civil Rights, Soldier Field, 21 June 1964.

About this source

What it is

This photograph, taken by a Chicago Tribune staff photographer, shows Martin Luther King Jr. with Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh and Monsignor Robert J. Hagarty at the Illinois Rally for Civil Rights at Chicago's Soldier Field on June 21, 1964.

Why it matters

The men are shown with linked arms singing "We Shall Overcome," showing how King worked with leaders of different faiths to build support for civil rights.

Look closer

  • Why might linking arms and singing together have been a powerful public gesture?
  • What does the presence of Catholic and Protestant clergy together suggest about the coalition King built?
  • What might be missing from this single photographed moment?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Martin Luther King Jr. on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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