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173-508: The hospital was established to provide healthcare to the citizens of the neighborhood. Initially, the hospital served as a holding area for patients to be transferred to Randalls and Wards Islands and Bellevue Hospital . With the wave of the African Americans who moved to New York after World War I , the hospital soon outgrew its initial building. After acquiring land, a new building opened on April 13, 1907. The hospital developed

346-724: A Bachelor of Arts in sociology in 1948, aged nineteen. King enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary in Upland, Pennsylvania , and took several courses at the University of Pennsylvania . At Crozer, King was elected president of the student body. At Penn, King took courses with William Fontaine , Penn's first African-American professor, and Elizabeth F. Flower , a professor of philosophy. King's father supported his decision to continue his education and made arrangements for King to work with J. Pius Barbour ,

519-415: A Children's Crusade . The Birmingham Police Department, led by Eugene "Bull" Connor , used high-pressure water jets and police dogs against protesters, including children. Footage of the police response was broadcast on national television news, shocking many white Americans and consolidating black Americans behind the movement. Not all of the demonstrators were peaceful, despite the avowed intentions of

692-721: A Danish cowherd named Barent Jansen Blom. A map from 1639 indicates that Van Twiller farmed Great Barent Island but left Little Barent Island unused. The islands were both seized in April 1667, three years after the British takeover of New Netherland. The names of Great and Little Barent Islands were changed to Great and Little Barn after the British took over. Thomas Delavall , a customs collector and an early mayor of New York City , claimed ownership of both islands in January 1667 and formally took ownership in 1668. Delavall offered

865-402: A Physician assistant program. May Edward Chinn , the first African-American woman to graduate from Bellevue Hospital Medical College , was also the first African-American woman to intern at Harlem Hospital. Lucille C. Gunning , an African-American pediatrician and specialist in the treatment of children’s cancer, who was known for her treatment of patients with Sickle cell disease , was

1038-684: A civil rights march to the city hall in Atlanta, to protest voting rights discrimination. Martin Jr. later remarked that Martin Sr. was "a real father" to him. Martin King Jr. memorized hymns and Bible verses by the time he was five years old. Beginning at six years old, he attended church events with his mother and sang hymns while she played piano. His favorite hymn was "I Want to Be More and More Like Jesus"; his singing moved attendees. King later became

1211-405: A B-plus average. The high school was the only one in the city for African-American students. Martin Jr. was brought up in a Baptist home; as he entered adolescence he began to question the literalist teachings preached at his father's church. At the age of 13, he denied the bodily resurrection of Jesus during Sunday school . Martin Jr. said that he found himself unable to identify with

1384-463: A church filled with white congregants. King wrote to his parents about the lack of segregation, relaying how he was amazed they could go to "one of the finest restaurants in Hartford" and that "Negroes and whites go to the same church". He played freshman football there. The summer before his last year at Morehouse, in 1947, the 18-year-old King chose to enter the ministry . He would later credit

1557-521: A church in the South. King tearfully told a friend that he could not endure his mother's pain over the marriage and broke the relationship off six months later. One friend was quoted as saying, "He never recovered." Other friends, including Harry Belafonte , said Betty had been "the love of King's life." King graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity in 1951. He applied to the University of Edinburgh for

1730-504: A cleric from the respective denomination. No headstones were installed above the mass graves, as the bodies were not identifiable. The cemetery did contain individual graves, which were interred to the west of the mass graves. By 1868, there were calls to relocate the island's mass graves because people were increasingly relocating along the East River shoreline, across from Wards Island. Wards Island began receiving freshwater from

1903-788: A doctorate in the School of Divinity but ultimately chose Boston instead. In 1951, King began doctoral studies in systematic theology at Boston University , and worked as an assistant minister at Boston's historic Twelfth Baptist Church with William Hunter Hester. Hester was an old friend of King's father and was an important influence on King. In Boston, King befriended a small cadre of local ministers his age, and sometimes guest pastored at their churches, including Michael E. Haynes , associate pastor at Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury. The young men often held bull sessions in their apartments, discussing theology, sermon style, and social issues. At

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2076-511: A drawbridge to what is now 114th Street on Manhattan Island, which was completed around 1807. A cotton factory was then built on the island by 1811, but it failed in part because of the economic effects of the War of 1812 . The bridge lasted until 1821, when it was destroyed in a storm. The damaged bridge pilings remained in place for several decades, and Wards Island was mostly abandoned afterward. Jonathan Randel's heirs sold Randalls Island to

2249-436: A family friend and Crozer alumnus who pastored at Calvary Baptist Church in nearby Chester, Pennsylvania . King became known as one of the "Sons of Calvary", an honor he shared with William Augustus Jones Jr. and Samuel D. Proctor , who both went on to become well-known preachers. King reproved another student for keeping beer in his room once, saying they shared responsibility as African Americans to bear "the burdens of

2422-502: A fieldhouse was built on the former Sunken Meadow Island after the filling operation was complete; the recreation area opened in 1968. The city's parks commissioner also sought to designate both Randalls and Wards Islands as an area for large gatherings. A new running track was installed in Randalls Island's Downing Stadium in 1970 and again in 1979. Residents of nearby areas frequented Randalls Island Park, and particularly

2595-577: A friend from Atlanta named Mary Powell, a student at the New England Conservatory of Music , if she knew any nice Southern girls. Powell spoke to fellow student Coretta Scott ; Scott was not interested in dating preachers but eventually agreed to allow King to telephone her based on Powell's description and vouching. On their first call, King told Scott, "I am like Napoleon at Waterloo before your charms," to which she replied, "You haven't even met me." King married Scott on June 18, 1953, on

2768-635: A group of other Morehouse College students to work in Simsbury, Connecticut , at the tobacco farm of Cullman Brothers Tobacco. This was King's first trip into the integrated north. In a June 1944 letter to his father King wrote about the differences that struck him: "On our way here we saw some things I had never anticipated to see. After we passed Washington there was no discrimination at all. The white people here are very nice. We go to any place we want to and sit anywhere we want to." The farm had partnered with Morehouse College to allot their wages towards

2941-570: A high school education, and enrolled in Morehouse College to study for entry to the ministry. Michael Sr. and Alberta began dating in 1920, and married on November 25, 1926. Until Jennie's death in 1941, their home was on the second floor of Alberta's parents' Victorian house , where King was born. Michael Jr. had an older sister, Christine King Farris , and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel "A. D." King . Shortly after marrying Alberta, Michael King Sr. became assistant pastor of

3114-401: A hospital on Montresor's Island, and troops on that island became friendly with American troops in the modern-day South Bronx. The Continental Army unsuccessfully tried to retake Montresor's Island on September 23, 1776, and 14 American troops were killed or injured. Montresor's house there was burned in 1777. Montresor wrote in his diary that American soldiers had burned down his house, while

3287-563: A hostile time of race relations. Harlem Hospital currently has six residency programs under an affiliation with Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons . The hospital has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1962. The six residency programs include: Internal Medicine , Pediatrics , Psychiatry , Radiology , Surgery , Dentistry, and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery The residency programs allows hands-on teaching for those who are interested in various medical fields. There are currently 202 resident and fellow positions at

3460-593: A member of his church choir dressed as a slave for the all-white audience at the Atlanta premiere of the film Gone with the Wind . In September 1940, at the age of 11, King was enrolled at the Atlanta University Laboratory School for the seventh grade . While there, King took violin and piano lessons and showed keen interest in history and English classes. On May 18, 1941, when King had sneaked away from studying at home to watch

3633-404: A member of the junior choir in his church. He enjoyed opera, and played the piano. King garnered a large vocabulary from reading dictionaries. He got into physical altercations with boys in his neighborhood, but oftentimes used his knowledge of words to stop or avoid fights. King showed a lack of interest in grammar and spelling, a trait that persisted throughout his life. In 1939, King sang as

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3806-508: A nursery, two chapels, doctors' residences, and barracks. A mental asylum within the Emigrant Hospital was developed on Wards Island's southwestern corner in the 1870s, following allegations that mentally ill emigrants were being mistreated. The western portion of Wards Island contained a smallpox hospital . The Commissioners of Public Charities and Correction bought additional land on Wards Island in 1852, though disputes over

3979-611: A parade, he was informed that something had happened to his maternal grandmother. After returning home, he learned she had a heart attack and died while being transported to a hospital. He took her death very hard and believed that his deception in going to see the parade may have been responsible for God taking her. King jumped out of a second-story window at his home but again survived. His father instructed him that Martin Jr. should not blame himself and that she had been called home to God as part of God's plan. Martin Jr. struggled with this. Shortly thereafter, Martin Sr. decided to move

4152-564: A police officer who referred to Martin Sr. as "boy", Martin Sr. responded sharply that Martin Jr. was a boy but he was a man. When Martin Jr's father took him into a shoe store in downtown Atlanta, the clerk told them they needed to sit in the back. Martin Sr. refused asserting "we'll either buy shoes sitting here or we won't buy any shoes at all", before leaving the store with Martin Jr. He told Martin Jr. afterward, "I don't care how long I have to live with this system, I will never accept it." In 1936, Martin Sr. led hundreds of African Americans in

4325-506: A quarry on that island and continued to maintain a farm there. Jasper Ward bought Lownds's land in 1806. His brother Bartholomew bought the remainder of Great Barn Island from John Molenaar, who in turn had acquired that land from Pinfold. The island was renamed for the Ward brothers, who unsuccessfully tried to create an agrarian community there, selling off parcels to various people. In addition, Bartholomew Ward and Philip Milledolar built

4498-460: A receiving vault nearby for a short time, in case families wanted to claim the remains. Unclaimed coffins were placed in mass graves , consisting of trenches measuring 300 by 18 by 15 feet (91.4 by 5.5 by 4.6 m). After the trenches were filled, the trenches were covered with topsoil, and trees were planted above them. There were two separate clusters of mass graves, one each for Catholics and Protestants; burials in either cluster were overseen by

4671-451: A second-story window, but rose from the ground after hearing that she was alive. Martin King Jr. became friends with a white boy whose father owned a business across the street from his home. In September 1935, when the boys were about six years old, they started school. King had to attend a school for black children, Yonge Street Elementary School, while his playmate went to a separate school for white children only. Soon afterwards,

4844-473: A situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation." The campaign's early volunteers did not succeed in shutting down the city, or in drawing media attention to the police's actions. Over the concerns of an uncertain King, SCLC strategist James Bevel changed the course of the campaign by recruiting children and young adults to join the demonstrations. Newsweek called this strategy

5017-498: A stadium. Moses wanted to expand the park onto Sunken Meadow and Wards Island, but Manhattan State Hospital on Wards Island was still leased by the state until 1943. The sewage plant's fourth phase was funded in 1935 after several years of delays. The following year, Moses canceled his plan to convert Wards Island into a park due to difficulties in relocating the hospital. The Triborough Bridge formally opened in July 1936, along with

5190-510: A teaching program that is affiliated with Columbia University , and has continued to serve the Harlem neighborhood since its inception. Administratively, Harlem Hospital Center is a member of the NYC Health + Hospitals . It is designated as a Level 1 Trauma Center and an Area Wide Burn Center that includes a specialty in plastic and reconstructive surgery to reduce the scarring unique to

5363-452: A time when both parties were courting the support of Southern Whites and their political leadership including Governor Vandiver. Nixon, with whom King had a closer relationship before, declined to make a statement despite a personal visit from Jackie Robinson requesting his intervention. Nixon's opponent John F. Kennedy called the governor (a Democrat) directly, enlisted his brother Robert to exert more pressure on state authorities, and, at

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5536-431: A tough time getting these positions and advancing in the ranks of society. After many obstacles, African Americans were able to work as physicians in the 1930s. The hospital soon became a fixture in the community. Harlem Hospital has also faced hardships, particularly with integrating its staff, upholding healthcare standards and economically. When first established, Harlem Hospital was staffed by white physicians and through

5709-480: Is Roosevelt Island . Prior to the removal of Hell Gate rocks in the mid-19th century, there were other large rock outcroppings in the East River near Wards Island. Before the islands were combined, Randalls Island had an area of about 240 acres (97 ha). Randalls Island had some granite outcroppings and marshland. The southern part of the island was composed of low hills, while the northern two-thirds were higher and flatter. There were two isolated ponds on

5882-404: Is at the mercy of the meanest white man." King was selected as the winner of the contest. On the ride home to Atlanta by bus, he and his teacher were ordered by the driver to stand so that white passengers could sit. The driver of the bus called King a "black son-of-a-bitch". King initially refused but complied after his teacher told him that he would be breaking the law if he did not. As all

6055-510: Is now Randalls and Wards Island was originally composed of Randalls Island to the north, Wards Island to the south, and Sunken Meadow just southeast of Randalls Island. A small creek, Little Hell Gate, ran between the islands. The current Randalls and Wards Island came about when Little Hell Gate was partially infilled. The combined island is part of the New York City borough of Manhattan ; this dates to an 1829 statute that designated

6228-552: Is parkland with athletic fields, a driving range, greenways, playgrounds, picnic grounds, and the Icahn Stadium track-and-field facility. The island is home to several public facilities, including a psychiatric hospital , an addiction treatment facility, shelters, a fire training academy, police station , and a wastewater treatment plant. The modern-day island is crossed by the Robert F. Kennedy and Hell Gate bridges. What

6401-503: The Atlanta sit-ins from March 1960 onwards. In August the movement asked King to participate in a mass October sit-in, timed to highlight how 1960's Presidential election campaigns had ignored civil rights. The coordinated day of action took place on October 19. King participated in a sit-in at the restaurant inside Rich's , Atlanta's largest department store, and was among the many arrested that day. The authorities released everyone over

6574-460: The Bible as instructed by their father. After dinners, Martin Jr.'s grandmother Jennie, whom he affectionately referred to as "Mama", told lively stories from the Bible . Martin Jr.'s father regularly used whippings to discipline his children, sometimes having them whip each other. Martin Sr. later remarked, "[Martin Jr.] was the most peculiar child whenever you whipped him. He'd stand there, and

6747-584: The Bronx by the Bronx Kill . A channel named Little Hell Gate separated Randalls Island to the north from Wards Island to the south; the channel was filled by the early 1960s. A third, smaller island, Sunken Meadow Island , was located east of Randalls Island and was connected to it in 1955. The Lenape Native Americans, who lived in the New York City area before European colonization, did not inhabit

6920-638: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 1965 Voting Rights Act . The SCLC used tactics of nonviolent protest with great success by strategically choosing the methods and places in which protests were carried out. There were often dramatic stand-offs with segregationist authorities, who sometimes turned violent. On September 20, 1958, King was signing copies of his book Stride Toward Freedom in Blumstein's department store in Harlem when Izola Curry —a mentally ill black woman who thought that King

7093-631: The Madison Square and Bryant Park graveyards, and immigrants who died at the State Emigrant Hospital were also interred there. About one-third of the bodies were immigrants, who were interred for an additional fee, under an agreement with the emigra­tion commiss­ioners. When the Wards Island potter's field was in operation, coffins were delivered to a cove on the island's southern shore. They were stored at

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7266-729: The Missouri State Penitentiary , was convicted of the assassination, though the King family believes he was a scapegoat ; the assassination remains the subject of conspiracy theories . King's death was followed by national mourning , as well as anger leading to riots in many U.S. cities . King was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2003. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

7439-599: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used the Negro Point name. Parks Commissioner Henry Stern renamed Negro Point in 2001 upon learning of the name, which he thought was offensive. He changed the name to "Scylla Point" because it faced Charybdis Playground in Astoria Park , on the opposite shore of Hell Gate; these were named after the mythological monsters of Scylla and Charybdis on

7612-467: The New York City water supply system in the early 1870s. By 1874, the corpses in the Wards Island potter's field were relocated to Hart Island in the Bronx. Later the same year, the emigration commissioners established an immigrants' cemetery on Wards Island after several immigrants' families complained about the way their bodies were treated on Hart Island. Two reservoirs were added to Wards Island by

7785-644: The Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance. In his final years, he expanded his focus to include opposition towards poverty and the Vietnam War . In 1968, King was planning a national occupation of Washington, D.C., to be called the Poor People's Campaign , when he was assassinated on April 4 in Memphis, Tennessee . James Earl Ray , a fugitive from

7958-617: The Randalls Island Stadium and Randalls Island Park. A police boat repair shop on Randalls Island was completed in March 1937, and the sewage plant was finished that October. A low-level bridge between the islands opened the same year, replacing a ferry line from Manhattan to Wards Island. Plans to convert Wards Island into a park were revived in early 1938, when the state government agreed to close Manhattan State Hospital. The Works Progress Administration began developing

8131-997: The Reformation leader Martin Luther . In reaction to the rise of Nazism , the BWA made a resolution saying, "This Congress deplores and condemns as a violation of the law of God the Heavenly Father , all racial animosity, and every form of oppression or unfair discrimination toward the Jews, toward colored people, or toward subject races in any part of the world." After returning home in August 1934, Michael Sr. changed his name to Martin Luther King Sr. and his five-year-old son's name to Martin Luther King Jr. At his childhood home, Martin King Jr. and his two siblings read aloud

8304-499: The Strait of Messina . There were other outcroppings around Wards Island. A 1918 guidebook listed two outcroppings known as Holmes Rock and Hogs Back, both of which were west of Scylla Point and above the waterline. The western outcropping extended 400 feet (120 m) to the southwest, while the eastern outcropping extended 300 feet (91 m) to the southwest. These outcroppings are made of Manhattan schist . Ships traveling from

8477-404: The entrance examination . As World War II was underway many black college students had been enlisted, so the university aimed to increase their enrollment by allowing juniors to apply. In 1944, aged 15, King passed the examination and was enrolled at the university that autumn. In the summer before King started at Morehouse, he boarded a train with his friend—Emmett "Weasel" Proctor—and

8650-668: The right to vote , desegregation , labor rights , and other civil rights . He oversaw the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and later became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As president of the SCLC, he led the unsuccessful Albany Movement in Albany, Georgia , and helped organize some of the nonviolent 1963 protests in Birmingham, Alabama . King was one of

8823-517: The 1880s called Randalls Island "an island full of idiots". The House of Refuge, for youth with criminal histories, occupied Randalls Island's southern end. It was operated by the Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents, which took over part of Randalls Island in 1851. Construction began in 1852, and the reformatory opened in 1854; an additional structure for women opened at

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8996-472: The 20th century, there were calls to relocate the boys' reformatory from Randalls Island. Though the state passed legislation to allow the House of Refuge's relocation in 1904, the reformatory remained for three decades. In the mid-1900s, there was a proposal to convert Randalls Island into a public park, as well as a plan for a new tuberculosis hospital on that island. On Wards Island, Manhattan State Hospital

9169-610: The African-American community. It is also designated as a Heart Care Station by the American Heart Association and participates in the 911 Receiving Hospitals Advisory Committee. It has been affiliated with the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University since 1962. The Harlem Hospital Center has engaged in many innovative programs specialized for its inner-city location, such as one of

9342-510: The Albany effort proved a key lesson in tactics for King and the national civil rights movement, the national media was highly critical of King's role in the defeat, and the SCLC's lack of results contributed to a growing gulf between the organization and the more radical SNCC . After Albany, King sought to choose engagements for the SCLC in which he could control the circumstances, rather than entering into pre-existing situations. In April 1963,

9515-495: The Americans maintained that the British had set the house aflame while retreating from what they believed was an imminent attack. Maps from late 1777 indicate that there were no remaining structures on Montresor's Island's western shore. Montresor moved back to England afterward. The New York City government confiscated the islands after the British occupation of New York ended in 1783 . The city sold Montresor's Island to

9688-699: The Belgian city of Antwerp also dumped slag onto the shores of the island. Little Hell Gate was originally a natural waterway separating Randalls Island and Wards Island. The east end of the waterway opened into the Hell Gate passage of the East River , opposite Astoria , Queens . The west end met the Harlem River across from East 116th Street , Manhattan . At the Hell Gate Bridge ,

9861-618: The British prior to the war. Starting in early 1776, the Continental Army used Montresor's Island to quarantine American soldiers who were infected with smallpox . Following the Continental Army's defeat in the Battle of Long Island , the British took over both islands and used them as an army base. The British launched amphibious attacks on Manhattan from Montresor's Island. John Montresor's wife Frances worked at

10034-527: The Dutch colony of New Netherland , and Dutch colonists ultimately forced the Wecquaesgeek off Manhattan by the late 17th century. Between the 1630s and the 1770s, the islands had various European residents. At the time, the islands were several miles from the boundaries of New York City, which then occupied modern-day Lower Manhattan . The islands had the same owners in the 17th century, but ownership

10207-662: The Ebenezer church. Senior pastor Williams died in the spring of 1931 and that fall Michael Sr. took the role. With support from his wife, he raised attendance from six hundred to several thousand. In 1934, the church sent King Sr. on a multinational trip; one of the stops on the trip was Berlin for the Congress of the Baptist World Alliance [BWA]). He also visited sites in Germany that are associated with

10380-462: The FBI used the incidental details caught on tape over the next five years, as part of its COINTELPRO program, in attempts to force King out of his leadership position. King believed that organized, nonviolent protest against the system of southern segregation known as Jim Crow laws would lead to extensive media coverage of the struggle for black equality. Journalistic accounts and televised footage of

10553-484: The Gandhi Society produced a document that called on President Kennedy to issue an executive order to deliver a blow for civil rights as a kind of Second Emancipation Proclamation . Kennedy did not execute the order. The FBI , under written directive from Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy , began tapping King's telephone line in the fall of 1963. Kennedy was concerned that public allegations of communists in

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10726-481: The Giuliani administration wrestled with the idea of laying off hospital employees. Lack of patients, insurance money, and government support led to what seemed like the demise of the hospital. The community, however, was not satisfied with the city's response to lay off employees. Because the hospital was a staple in the community, Harlem residents feared not having a place to go to for reliable healthcare. To citizens,

10899-637: The Homeopathic Hospital and the Insane Asylum). During the 1880s, there were complaints over the mistreatment of people at Wards Island's Insane Asylum. In addition, there were concerns that the Wards Islands buildings were not fireproof, and the emigration commissioners demanded in 1885 that the charities and correction commissioners vacate one of the Wards Islands buildings. By 1887, overcrowding on Wards Island had compelled

11072-402: The House of Refuge in 1860. The House of Refuge consisted of numerous three-and-four-story Italianate buildings, surrounded by a wall. The reformatory was supposed to provide religious classes, non-religious lessons, and manual employment. Though The New York Times said in 1870 that the institution was not intended for punishment, youths were often beaten and malnourished through the end of

11245-826: The Idiot Asylum, and there were complaints over the mistreatment of people at the House of Refuge. The city's Charities Department took over Randalls Island's schools from the Department of Education in 1888. The Randall's Island Hospital and Schools were created in 1892 through a merger of the Randalls Island Hospital, Idiot School, and Asylum for Juvenile Idiots. Randalls Island was still home to sick children, orphans, juvenile delinquents, and mentally disabled children. The House of Refuge stopped accepting prisoners in 1897 because of unsanitary conditions, and there were reports of high infant mortality on

11418-404: The Inebriate Asylum could not accept any more boarders by 1872 because it was so crowded. The New York Inebriate Asylum became the Homeopathic Hospital in September 1875. A third hospital on Wards Island, Manhattan State Hospital for the Insane, opened in 1871 or 1872 and was located near the middle of the island. The hospital's first building was a three-story Gothic stone structure west of

11591-411: The Inebriate Asylum. By the early 1870s, there were reports that asylum patients were being abused. The structure was known as the Insane Asylum or the Male Lunatic Asylum, a men's asylum, by the early 1880s. Randalls Island's first institution was the Nurseries, operated by Commissioners of Public Charities and Correction. In 1847 or 1848, the commissioners completed the Nurseries' first buildings on

11764-484: The Mountaintop". Goldie Brangman , a CRNA who worked at the hospital, recounted the evening in 2015. Though the operation was indeed notable, as it saved a prominent civil rights leader, Goldie Brangman also deserves recognition. While serving the hospital for 45 years, Brangman directed its nurse anesthesia education program. Brangman also became the first black president of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists . Brangman's achievements were unheard of during such

11937-465: The Negro race". For a time, he was interested in Walter Rauschenbusch 's "social gospel". In his third year at Crozer, King became romantically involved with the white daughter of an immigrant German woman who worked in the cafeteria. King planned to marry her, but friends, as well as King's father, advised against it, saying that an interracial marriage would provoke animosity from both blacks and whites, potentially damaging his chances of ever pastoring

12110-426: The SCLC began a campaign against racial segregation and economic injustice in Birmingham, Alabama . The campaign used nonviolent but intentionally confrontational tactics, developed in part by Wyatt Tee Walker . Black people in Birmingham, organizing with the SCLC, occupied public spaces with marches and sit-ins , openly violating laws that they considered unjust. King's intent was to provoke mass arrests and "create

12283-424: The SCLC in the libel case Abernathy et al. v. Sullivan ; the case was litigated about the newspaper advertisement " Heed Their Rising Voices ". Wachtel founded a tax-exempt fund to cover the suit's expenses and assist the nonviolent civil rights movement through a more effective means of fundraising. King served as honorary president of this organization, named the "Gandhi Society for Human Rights". In 1962, King and

12456-404: The SCLC would derail the administration's civil rights initiatives. He warned King to discontinue these associations and later felt compelled to issue the written directive that authorized the FBI to wiretap King and other SCLC leaders. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover feared the civil rights movement and investigated the allegations of communist infiltration. When no evidence emerged to support this,

12629-431: The SCLC. In some cases, bystanders attacked the police, who responded with force. King and the SCLC were criticized for putting children in harm's way. But the campaign was a success: Connor lost his job, the "Jim Crow" signs came down, and public places became more open to blacks. King's reputation improved immensely. King was arrested and jailed early in the campaign—his 13th arrest out of 29. From his cell, he composed

12802-516: The Sunken Meadow recreation area, during that decade. Meanwhile, Wards Island's hospitals had been split into three units by the early 1970s, and robberies, rapes, and break-ins on the island were common. There were allegations of mismanagement at Wards Island's hospitals, and the drug-treatment facility there closed in 1971. A facility for severely mentally-disabled patients on Wards Island opened in 1974 and closed three years later. During

12975-878: The age of 25 in 1954, King was called as pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama . King received his PhD on June 5, 1955, with a dissertation (initially supervised by Edgar S. Brightman and, upon the latter's death, by Lotan Harold DeWolf ) titled A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman . An academic inquiry in October 1991 concluded that portions of his doctoral dissertation had been plagiarized and he had acted improperly. However, "[d]espite its finding,

13148-424: The almshouse's governors reported that the field had no more space for inter­ments, and the shallow layer of soil made further burials infeasible. Historical studies indicate that around 21,000 people may have been buried on the island; with 120 interments in one pit, this would have required at least 130 pits. By the mid-1850s, The New York Times regarded the Randalls Island potter's field as "a disgrace to

13321-478: The audience was hostile and frustrated. King then gave an impassioned speech calling participants to resist the "cancerous disease of disunity", helping to calm tensions. The Albany Movement was a desegregation coalition formed in Albany, Georgia , in November 1961. In December, King and the SCLC became involved. The movement mobilized thousands of citizens for a nonviolent attack on every aspect of segregation in

13494-413: The bus boycott transformed him into a national figure and the best-known spokesman of the civil rights movement. In 1957, King, Ralph Abernathy , Fred Shuttlesworth , Joseph Lowery , and other civil rights activists founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The group was created to harness the moral authority and organizing power of black churches to conduct nonviolent protests in

13667-416: The century. It also faced overcrowding, with as many as a thousand youths in the 1860s and 1870s. Prior to the 1840s, the city's potter's fields were located on Manhattan Island; the potter's fields had to be relocated every few years as the city developed. A proposal to relocate the potter's fields to Randalls Island was first put forth in 1835, but this did not happen immediately because of concerns that

13840-417: The channel had been infilled, NYC Parks would expand the two islands' parks. Moses also proposed closing Little Hell Gate and erecting a yacht marina on the former stream's site. The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority announced in 1962 that it would allow contractors to fill the eastern portion of Little Hell Gate and the northern corner of Randalls Island. Randalls and Wards Islands were conjoined by

14013-411: The charities and correction commissioners to develop another asylum on Long Island . There were proposals to turn over the state-owned Emigrant Hospital buildings on Wards Island to the city government. The Emigration Commission proposed selling the Emigrant Hospital property to the city for about $ 2 million in 1890. Despite objections to the abandonment of the Emigrant Hospital buildings, the hospital

14186-600: The church's pastor, King became known for his oratorical preaching in Montgomery and the surrounding region. In March 1955, Claudette Colvin —a fifteen-year-old black schoolgirl in Montgomery—refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in violation of Jim Crow laws , local laws in the Southern United States that enforced racial segregation . Nine months later on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks

14359-425: The city and attracted nationwide attention. When King first visited on December 15, 1961, he "had planned to stay a day or so and return home after giving counsel." The following day he was swept up in a mass arrest of peaceful demonstrators, and he declined bail until the city made concessions. According to King, "that agreement was dishonored and violated by the city" after he left. King returned in July 1962 and

14532-582: The city in 1835 for $ 50,000 (equivalent to $ 1.5 million in 2023) or $ 60,000 (equivalent to $ 1.8 million in 2023). Randel's name was misspelled in the ownership deed that was given to the city, and so the island became known as Randalls Island. The city government leased Wards Island in December 1847, initially erecting the Emigrant Refuge and Hospital there before buying Wards Island outright. The city bought half of Wards Island during

14705-512: The city". The Corporation of New York thus began acquiring land for the Wards Island potter's field in 1851; it covered 69 to 75 acres (28 to 30 ha). The location of the Wards Island potter's field is also not known, but between 1,000 and 4,000 bodies were interred there each year. Another 100,000 bodies were moved from the Fourth Avenue potter's field to Wards Island, which was completed by 1857. Other bodies were relocated from

14878-603: The city's public charities department introduced reforms to the island's hospital, including hiring additional physicians and attendants. Construction of a second bridge across the two islands—the Triborough (now RFK) Bridge , connecting Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx—began in 1929. The next year, the city's Sanitary Commission requested funding from the city's Board of Estimate for a new sewage treatment plant on Wards Island. The Board of Estimate approved $ 7.67 million for

15051-523: The city, was sold to Metropolitan-Columbia Stockholders Inc. in 1933; this land was later seized for the bridge. The construction of the Triborough Bridge required the demolition of buildings on both islands, and patients were sometimes moved to more crowded facilities. The New York City Department of Hospitals planned to replace the hospitals with Seaview Hospital on Staten Island . The House of Refuge's youth were relocated upstate, and

15224-525: The college's president, Baptist minister Benjamin Mays , with being his "spiritual mentor". King had concluded that the church offered the most assuring way to answer "an inner urge to serve humanity", and he made peace with the Baptist Church, as he believed he would be a "rational" minister with sermons that were "a respectful force for ideas, even social protest." King graduated from Morehouse with

15397-566: The committee said that 'no thought should be given to the revocation of Dr. King's doctoral degree,' an action that the panel said would serve no purpose." The committee found that the dissertation still "makes an intelligent contribution to scholarship." A letter is now attached to the copy of King's dissertation in the university library, noting that numerous passages were included without the appropriate quotations and citations of sources. Significant debate exists on how to interpret King's plagiarism. While studying at Boston University, he asked

15570-557: The daily indignities suffered by southern blacks, and of segregationist violence and harassment of civil rights supporters, produced a wave of sympathetic public opinion that convinced the majority of Americans that the civil rights movement was the most important issue in American politics in the early 1960s. King organized and led marches for blacks' right to vote , desegregation , labor rights , and other basic civil rights. Most of these rights were successfully enacted into law with

15743-648: The decade, a training academy for the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) was built on the two islands, opening in 1975. The Manhattan State Hospital became the Manhattan Psychiatric Center in the late 1970s, and its population decreased by nearly 90 percent from 1926 to the late 20th century. A homeless shelter opened on Wards Island in 1980, following a court order. Known as the Charles H. Gay Homeless Shelter,

15916-507: The director of pediatric rehabilitation at Harlem Hospital during the 1980s. Harlem Hospital was opened April 18, 1897 in a three-story building that housed 54 beds. The hospital was originally served as a center for patients waiting to be transferred to Bellevue Hospital. Harlem Hospital was founded under the control of the Department of Public Charities and Corrections. The hospital's initial 54 beds proved to be lacking, especially after

16089-542: The early 1850s and acquired the remainder of the island through 1883. In the mid-19th century, various social facilities were relocated from Manhattan Island to nearby smaller isles, including Randalls and Wards Islands. Randalls Island housed an almshouse (opened 1845), a children's hospital (opened 1848), the Idiot Asylum, and the New York House of Refuge reformatory. Maps from the 1850s show two hospital complexes on Randalls Island. Meanwhile, Wards Island

16262-626: The eastern end of Little Hell Gate still remain: an indentation in the shoreline on the East River side indicates the former east entrance to that waterway. Today, parkland and part of the New York City Fire Department Academy occupy that area. According to archaeological digs, the area around Randalls and Wards Islands was settled by Paleo-Indians up to 12,000 years ago. The Lenape , a Native American people indigenous to New York City, called Wards Island Tekenas or Tenkenas . The exact translation of

16435-806: The emotional displays from congregants who were frequent at his church; he doubted if he would ever attain personal satisfaction from religion. He later said of this point in his life, "doubts began to spring forth unrelentingly." In high school, Martin King Jr. became known for his public-speaking ability, with a voice that had grown into an orotund baritone . He joined the school's debate team. King continued to be most drawn to history and English , and chose English and sociology as his main subjects. King maintained an abundant vocabulary . However, he relied on his sister Christine to help him with spelling, while King assisted her with math. King also developed an interest in fashion, commonly wearing polished patent leather shoes and tweed suits, which gained him

16608-415: The entrances. Notes Further reading Randalls and Wards Islands Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island ) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Island , in New York City . Part of the borough of Manhattan , it is separated from Manhattan Island by the Harlem River , from Queens by the East River and Hell Gate , and from

16781-404: The existing buildings were demolished starting in the 1930s, when the Triborough (now Robert F. Kennedy) Bridge , two parks, and a wastewater treatment plant were developed there. The islands have since been connected with each other, and various recreational facilities and institutions have been developed on both islands in the late 20th and the 21st centuries. Most of Randalls and Wards Island

16954-474: The facility faced opposition from the outset and also became overcrowded; it was thus expanded in 1982. Downing Stadium was also renovated in the early 1980s, but the stadium continued to decay and had to be renovated again within half a decade. A maximum-security mental health facility was developed on the island in 1984. By the late 1980s, the Wards Island sewage treatment plant was operating over capacity, prompting city officials to announce an expansion of

17127-598: The family to a two-story brick home on a hill overlooking downtown Atlanta. As an adolescent, he initially felt resentment against whites due to the "racial humiliation" that he, his family, and his neighbors often had to endure. In 1942, when King was 13, he became the youngest assistant manager of a newspaper delivery station for the Atlanta Journal . In the same year, King skipped the ninth grade and enrolled in Booker T. Washington High School , where he maintained

17300-501: The few specialized asthma centers. While four percent of the national population suffers from asthma, that figure approaches 20 percent in Harlem. It has a referral Center for Tuberculosis , Charles P. Felton National Tuberculosis Center, that served as a premier Model for TB control nationwide. Harlem Hospital Center provides over 210,000 clinical visits, 83,000 emergency department visits, and 13,000 inpatient admissions each year. It also operates Harlem Hospital School of Nursing and

17473-632: The hospital received the Healthcare Association of New York State Community Health Improvement Award, given in honor of the hospital's Injury Prevention Program. The injury center at the hospital was recognized for targeting window falls, violent injuries, and bicycle injuries. The hospital has also been recognized for critical operations and notable physicians. In 1958, Martin Luther King Jr. , survived an emergency thoracotomy at Harlem Hospital following his near-fatal stabbing, an event referenced in his final public address, "I Have Been to

17646-563: The hospital was rebuilt following a fire the next year, and additional hospital buildings were proposed on Wards Island to relieve overcrowding. With 4,400 patients by 1899, the Manhattan State Hospital was the world's largest psychiatric hospital. A solarium was added to the State Hospital in the early 1900s, and there were proposals for a lighthouse on Wards Island (which was not built). Part of Wards Island

17819-428: The hospital. In 2013, the demographics of the hospital admissions were 1,462 Hispanics, 9,239 Blacks, 445 whites, 48 Asians, 1,924 others and 9 unknowns. The hospital owns a set of Works Progress Administration murals, painted by artists including Charles Alston , Alfred Crimi , Georgette Seabrooke , Elba Lightfoot and Vertis Hayes . In addition, a sculpture by John Rhoden , "Untitled (Family)", adorns some of

17992-779: The island in 1765 and bequeathed it to the Society in Great Britain for Propagating the Gospel to Foreign Parts, which held onto the island for another seven years. Captain John Montresor , an engineer with the British army , purchased Randalls Island in 1772. He renamed it Montresor's Island and lived on it until the American Revolutionary War ; he surveyed the New York Harbor area for

18165-457: The island's northern tip were completed by the 1920s. In addition, Mayor John Hylan proposed a sewage treatment plant on Wards Island in 1925. In the mid-1870s, a seawall was built around Randalls Island, along with some docks, and there were also proposals to lay a freshwater pipe to the island. By the following decade, Randalls Island had the House of Refuge, the Children's Hospital, and

18338-508: The island's northwest corner. The same year, the state announced that it would rebuild Manhattan State Hospital. The rest of Wards Island was to be converted into a park, and a new bridge would be built from Manhattan to Wards Island. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) also announced that it would build an overpass to the Bronx and infill Bronx Kill to make way for additional recreational fields on Randalls Island. The Wards Island Bridge opened in 1951, along with

18511-407: The island. New facilities were planned on Randalls Island in the late 1890s, including a steam plant, a nurses' home, and a playroom building. Randalls Island's industrial school burned down in 1900. The Infants' Hospital was combined with the Randalls Island Hospital and School in 1902, and the latter organization became Randalls Island Hospitals, Schools, and Asylum. During the first decade of

18684-569: The islands as a public park for the nearby town of Harlem , but nothing came of this proposal. After Delavall's death in 1682, the islands were bequeathed to his son-in-law William Dervall. The islands became part of New York County (now Manhattan) in 1683, and they became part of New York City in 1691. Toward the end of the 17th century, stones from Little Barn Island were quarried for the construction of Trinity Church in Manhattan's Financial District . Great Barn (Wards) Island came under

18857-521: The islands as being within Manhattan's eastern boundary. Randalls and Wards Island has an area of about 530 acres (210 ha). The island is surrounded by Bronx Kill to the north, separating it from the Bronx ; Harlem River to the west, separating it from Manhattan Island; and the Hell Gate channel of the East River to the south and east, separating it from Queens . The island had a population of 1,648 in 2010. A small island called Mill Rock exists south of Wards Island, while further downstream

19030-458: The islands. Between the 1630s and the 1770s, the islands had various European residents; the islands had the same owners in the 17th century, but ownership was split during the 18th century. Randalls and Wards Islands became known for their respective early-19th-century owners, Jonathan Randel and the Ward brothers. The city government took over both islands in the mid-19th century and developed numerous hospitals, asylums, and cemeteries there. Most of

19203-478: The late 1870s; maps indicate that the island remained largely unchanged until the end of the century, aside from new roads. By the early 1880s, control of Wards Island was split between the Commissioners of Emigration (which operated the State Emigrant Hospital and an attached asylum, nursery, and "houses of refuge") and the Commissioners of Public Charities and Correction (which operated institutions such as

19376-496: The late 1960s, allowing the construction of more recreational facilities on the filled land. Randalls Island hosted opera performances by the Popular Price Grand Opera Company until 1961, when the city demanded that the singers pay a $ 250 license fee. A mental research laboratory on Wards Island was proposed in 1960. Wards Island Park remained underused, and The New York Times said in 1963 that

19549-616: The lawn of her parents' house, in Heiberger, Alabama . They had four children: Yolanda King (1955–2007), Martin Luther King III (b. 1957), Dexter Scott King (1961–2024), and Bernice King (b. 1963). King limited Coretta's role in the civil rights movement, expecting her to be a housewife and mother. The Dexter Avenue Baptist Church was influential in the Montgomery African-American community. As

19722-496: The layoffs were the first step in removing quality healthcare from poorer neighborhoods. To make sure their voices were heard, the Harlem community took to the streets to make sure their support of the hospital was heard by all. The support did not come without criticism. Harlem citizens feared the condition of the hospital, and wanted to ensure that all measures were put into place to maintain the community's monument for healthcare. Harlem Hospital has received numerous awards. In 2000,

19895-724: The leaders of the 1963 March on Washington , where he delivered his " I Have a Dream " speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial , and helped organize two of the three Selma to Montgomery marches during the 1965 Selma voting rights movement. The civil rights movement achieved pivotal legislative gains in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , the Voting Rights Act of 1965 , and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 . There were several dramatic standoffs with segregationist authorities, who often responded violently. King

20068-599: The merchant Samuel Ogden in 1784. In November 1784, Jonathan Randel bought Montresor's Island for about $ 6,000. Randel reportedly sold enough produce to pay for the island within a decade. Maps from the early 19th century show that Randel developed at least three structures; an 1836 map depicts a tree-lined path leading from the Harlem River to Randell's main house. William Lownds bought Great Barn Island's southern half from Benjamin Hildreth in 1785. He operated

20241-444: The mid-1910s, following allegations of mismanagement. The poor conditions prompted proposals to rebuild the 75 structures on Randalls Island, The city's public charities commissioner devised plans to rebuild the Children's Hospital and School in 1916, and work on the new buildings began the following year. During the late 1910s, a park on Randalls Island was again proposed, along with a home for mentally disabled women. In addition,

20414-609: The mid-1950s to build a treatment plant elsewhere. Despite Moses's efforts to take over Wards Island, additional hospital buildings were approved in 1954. Three new buildings were erected for Manhattan State Hospital. The older hospital buildings were destroyed, and a homeless shelter, rehabilitation center, and other structures were built on that site. The city government announced in 1955 that it planned to connect Randalls and Wards Islands by allowing private contractors to dump debris within Little Hell Gate for free. After

20587-414: The mid-1950s. By the mid-1950s, Wards Island Park had few visitors. Whereas Randalls Island Park was easily accessible via car, Wards Island Park's only public access was via the footbridge (the span over Little Hell Gate span was for hospital visitors only). Sunken Meadow, which had been reserved for an expansion of the Wards Island sewage plant, was freed up for recreational uses when the city decided in

20760-496: The mid-1950s. The Sunken Meadow section of Randalls Island Park comprises 85 acres (34 ha) and contains ball fields. Also east of Randalls Island was an even smaller island called the Hammock, which was subsumed through filling operations. Originally, Wards Island had an area of about 145 acres (59 ha). Like Randalls Island to the north, Wards Island had marshlands on its western and northern shores and shellfish beds on

20933-415: The mistreatment of Black patients, a movement began to integrate the hospital. Since the 1980s, New York City had been monitoring Harlem Hospital to ensure that the employees complied with Medicare conditions of participation. In the 1990s the hospital faced trying economic times. Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his administration had hard decisions to make concerning the hospital. Due to lack of income and profit,

21106-521: The name is not known but has been interpreted as "forest", "wild land[s]", or "uninhabited place"; the name is derived from Tékene , the Munsee Delaware word for "the woods". Randalls Island was called Minnehanonck or Minnahanouth . Neither Randalls nor Wards Islands are known to have had any Lenape settlements. Just west of Randalls Island was a village called Conykeekst ("little narrow tract") on Manhattan Island, while to

21279-432: The negotiations failed and sit-ins and boycotts resumed for several months. On March 7, 1961, a group of Black elders including King notified student leaders that a deal had been reached: the city's lunch counters would desegregate in fall 1961, in conjunction with the court-mandated desegregation of schools. Many students were disappointed at the compromise. In a large meeting on March 10 at Warren Memorial Methodist Church,

21452-425: The new fields, city officials wanted to build a causeway from Randalls Island to the Bronx. Wards Island Park was delayed during the 1940s, and Manhattan State Hospital remained open past 1943, despite having been ordered to shut down. In early 1946, the city and state agreed to extend the state's lease of Wards Island to 1948, after which part of the island would become a city park; the state would retain control of

21625-498: The next few days, except for King. Invoking his probationary plea deal, judge J. Oscar Mitchell sentenced King on October 25 to four months of hard labor. Before dawn the next day, King was transported to Georgia State Prison . The arrest and harsh sentence drew nationwide attention. Many feared for King's safety, as he started a prison sentence with people convicted of violent crimes, many of them White and hostile to his activism. Both Presidential candidates were asked to weigh in, at

21798-554: The next year; that building opened in 1912. In the 1910s, Almirall drew up plans to redevelop Randalls Island into a park, but the Municipal Art Commission rejected his proposal. Part of the island was also used for the construction of the Hell Gate Bridge. The city took over the state-owned section of Randalls Island in 1914. The state government also began investigating conditions on the island in

21971-495: The nickname "Tweed" or "Tweedie" among his friends. He liked flirting with girls and dancing. His brother A.D. later remarked, "He kept flitting from chick to chick, and I decided I couldn't keep up with him. Especially since he was crazy about dances, and just about the best jitterbug in town." On April 13, 1944, in his junior year , King gave his first public speech during an oratorical contest . In his speech he stated, "black America still wears chains. The finest negro

22144-405: The north of Randalls Island was the village of Ranachqua in the Bronx. There was another settlement, Rechewanis , on Manhattan Island southwest of the two islands as late as 1669. At the time of European contact in the early 17th century, there were 900 Wecquaesgeek Lenape living in what is now Upper Manhattan , the Bronx , and lower Westchester County . The islands became part of

22317-459: The northeastern shore. The Nurseries were used by non-criminal youth below age 17. There was a farm on the island's northern shore, as well as a brick detention building. An 1867 article described the complex as including a wooden storage building, boathouse, and a wide road leading to the nursery. At the time, the nursery department comprised eight buildings, while the nursery hospital comprised another five structures. The Children's Hospital

22490-410: The northern part of the island. There was a ridge across the island's northern section, which hosted farms and fruit orchards in the 19th century. Surrounding Randalls Island was a narrow strip of marshland, and there were larger marshes to the north and southeast, which drained into the East River. The north and southeast shores also had shellfish beds. The southern part of the island was leveled, and

22663-410: The now-famous " Letter from Birmingham Jail " that responds to calls to pursue legal channels for social change . The letter has been described as "one of the most important historical documents penned by a modern political prisoner ". King argues that the crisis of racism is too urgent, and the current system too entrenched: "We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by

22836-605: The oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." He points out that the Boston Tea Party , a celebrated act of rebellion in the American colonies, was illegal civil disobedience, and that, conversely, "everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was 'legal'." Walter Reuther , president of the United Auto Workers , arranged for $ 160,000 to bail out King and his fellow protestors. "I have almost reached

23009-457: The ownership of Thomas Parcell in 1687; his family owned it until c.  1762 , during which it was called Parcell's Island. At least four people, likely members of the Parcell family, were buried in a stone vault on the island. Wards Island was also known as Buchanan's Island. Thomas Bohanna bought 140 acres (57 ha) on the southern section Great Barn Island in 1767, and the island

23182-574: The parents of the white boy stopped allowing King to play with their son, stating to him, "we are white, and you are colored". When King relayed this to his parents, they talked with him about the history of slavery and racism in America , which King would later say made him "determined to hate every white person". His parents instructed him that it was his Christian duty to love everyone. Martin King Jr. witnessed his father stand up against segregation and discrimination . Once, when stopped by

23355-419: The park was generally neglected and full of garbage. Work on a 200-bed hospital for mentally disabled children on Wards Island began in 1965, and New York governor Nelson Rockefeller announced a mental hospital complex on that island in 1967. A rehabilitation center at the base of the Manhattan State Hospital was built on the island in the late 1960s. A 45-acre (18 ha) recreation area with ballfields and

23528-583: The patients in the Children's Hospital were moved to Flushing, Queens . The first two phases of the sewage plant were finished in 1934. That April, in anticipation of the Triborough Bridge's completion, city parks commissioner Robert Moses announced that he would convert 140 acres (57 ha) on Randalls Island to parkland. The park plans were announced in February 1935, and work began soon thereafter. Most of Randalls Island's 87 buildings were to be razed and replaced with various athletic facilities such as

23701-418: The personal request of Sargent Shriver , called King's wife to offer his help. The pressure from Kennedy and others proved effective, and King was released two days later. King's father decided to openly endorse Kennedy's candidacy for the November 8 election which he narrowly won. After the October 19 sit-ins and following unrest, a 30-day truce was declared in Atlanta for desegregation negotiations. However,

23874-592: The plant. In addition, part of the Charles H. Gay Shelter was converted to a women's jail in 1989 to accommodate the increasing number of inmates in the city. A Newsday report from the late 1980s found the island's park to be relatively safe but also poorly maintained. The park was used by dozens of local schools at the time and had various baseball, rugby, tennis, softball, soccer, lacrosse, and cricket fields. Martin Luther King Jr. Campaigns Death and memorial Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr. ; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)

24047-476: The potter's fields would be too close to the Randalls Island almshouse. A potter's field opened on Randalls Island in 1843, two years before the almshouse was completed. The Randalls Island burial ground covered 75 acres (30 ha) and was likely south of the island's nurseries, though the exact location is unknown. It operated simultaneously with another potter's field on Fourth Avenue in Manhattan. The Randalls Island potter's field operated until 1850, when

24220-664: The purchase continued through the 1860s. Following the development of the New York State Inebriate Asylum in Binghamton, New York , a similar asylum was proposed on Wards Island in 1865. The three-story New York Inebriate Asylum on Wards Island opened in 1868 and served recovering alcoholics. Veterans were housed in the Inebriate Asylum's eastern wing starting in 1869; they remained there until 1875. A contemporary newspaper wrote that

24393-401: The recreational facilities on Wards Island. Initially, there was a playground, picnic grove, three softball fields, and three baseball fields on Wards Island. Though NYC Parks originally planned to expand the park onto Manhattan State Hospital's site, the city government ultimately decided to allow the state to keep operating Manhattan State Hospital. Two chapels were developed on the island in

24566-681: The regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Councilor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set

24739-534: The request of the SCLC. In Atlanta, King served until his death as co-pastor with his father at the Ebenezer Baptist Church . Georgia governor Ernest Vandiver expressed open hostility towards King's return. He claimed that "wherever M. L. King Jr., has been there has followed in his wake a wave of crimes", and vowed to keep King under surveillance. On May 4, 1960, King drove writer Lillian Smith to Emory University when police stopped them. King

24912-433: The seats were occupied, he and his teacher were forced to stand the rest of the way to Atlanta. Later King wrote of the incident: "That night will never leave my memory. It was the angriest I have ever been in my life." During King's junior year in high school, Morehouse College —an all-male historically black college that King's father and maternal grandfather had attended —began accepting high school juniors who passed

25085-486: The service of civil rights reform. The group was inspired by the crusades of evangelist Billy Graham , who befriended King, as well as the national organizing of the group In Friendship, founded by King allies Stanley Levison and Ella Baker . King led the SCLC until his death. The SCLC's 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom was the first time King addressed a national audience. Harry Wachtel joined King's legal advisor Clarence B. Jones in defending four ministers of

25258-427: The sewage plant that October, and preliminary work began the next month; a groundbreaking ceremony for the 50-acre (20 ha) treatment plant occurred in 1931. Plans for an administration building and several other structures on the northeast part of Wards Island were filed in 1931, and plans for a fertilizer building and storage building were filed the next year. Part of Wards Island, which had never been deeded to

25431-406: The shoreline rebuilt, in the mid-19th century, though some meadows and swamps remained until the 1930s. To the east of Randalls Island was Sunken Meadow Island, which covered about 20 acres (8.1 ha). Ownership of Sunken Meadow Island had been disputed during the early 20th century, and city officials had considered that island to be part of Randalls Island. Infilling took place beginning in

25604-557: The situation became so tense that King's house was bombed. King was arrested for traveling 30 mph in a 25 mph zone and jailed, which overnight drew the attention of national media, and greatly increased King's public stature. The controversy ended when the United States District Court issued a ruling in Browder v. Gayle that prohibited racial segregation on Montgomery public buses. King's role in

25777-402: The southeastern part of the island. A 1968 guidebook described grasses as being present across the island. The island is surrounded by piles of riprap or rocks. By the 19th century, the southern end of Wards Island was known as Negro Point; the Negro Point name became official in 1984. A ledge extended about 200 feet (61 m) to its southeast. The United States Geological Survey and

25950-404: The southern end of Wards Island that year, demolishing what was left of the Homeopathic Hospital. The city took over Sunken Meadow Island in 1939 for an expansion of Wards Island's sewage treatment plant, and a set of clay tennis courts opened on Randalls Island the same year. Work on a restroom, field house, and five softball fields on Randalls Island began in 1941. To allow public access to

26123-420: The tears would run down, and he'd never cry." Once, when Martin Jr. witnessed his brother A.D. emotionally upset his sister Christine, he took a telephone and knocked A.D. unconscious with it. When Martin Jr. and his brother were playing at their home, A.D. slid from a banister and hit Jennie, causing her to fall unresponsive. Martin Jr. believing her dead, blamed himself and attempted suicide by jumping from

26296-413: The three-story Refuge for Destitute Immigrants on Wards Island both opened in July 1866; its design was based on a plan by the social reformer Florence Nightingale . The main Emigrant Hospital could accommodate 400 or 450 patients and supplemented the city's immigration center, which was then located at Castle Garden . After these structures opened, various other buildings were constructed, including

26469-507: The university's tuition, housing, and fees. On weekdays King and the other students worked in the fields, picking tobacco from 7:00am to at least 5:00pm, enduring temperatures above 100  °F , to earn roughly USD$ 4 per day. On Friday evenings, the students visited downtown Simsbury to get milkshakes and watch movies, and on Saturdays they would travel to Hartford, Connecticut , to see theatre performances, shop and eat in restaurants. On Sundays they attended church services in Hartford, at

26642-525: The waterway was over 1000 feet (300 m) wide with swift currents. The opening of the Triborough Bridge spurred the conversion of both islands to parkland . Soon thereafter, the city began filling in most of the passage between the two islands, in order to expand and connect the two parks. The inlet was filled in by the 1960s. What is now called "Little Hell Gate Inlet" is the western end of what used to be Little Hell Gate; however, few traces of

26815-512: The wave of African Americans who traveled to New York after World War I . The Harlem Hospital served as a sense of pride for the African-American community. As the African-American community started to grow in New York, they attempted to gain control over aspects of the community that had a direct impact on them. City bureaucracies, such as the police force and firefighters, were dominated by outside communities. Understandably, African Americans had

26988-405: Was a minister in rural Georgia , moved to Atlanta in 1893, and became pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in the following year. Williams married Jennie Celeste Parks. Michael Sr. was born to sharecroppers James Albert and Delia King of Stockbridge, Georgia ; he was of African- Irish descent. As an adolescent, Michael Sr. left his parents' farm and walked to Atlanta, where he attained

27161-409: Was acquired for the construction of the Hell Gate Bridge , a railroad bridge between the Bronx and Queens; work on the bridge commenced in 1911. The Manhattan State Hospital unsuccessfully tried to prevent the construction of the span across Wards Island, and the bridge was completed in 1917. In addition, the state leased Wards Island from the city for 50 years beginning in 1914. The Mabon Building

27334-548: Was an American Baptist minister, activist , and political philosopher who was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. King advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through the use of nonviolent resistance and nonviolent civil disobedience against Jim Crow laws and other forms of legalized discrimination . A black church leader, King participated in and led marches for

27507-429: Was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus. The two incidents led to the Montgomery bus boycott, which was urged and planned by Edgar Nixon and led by King. The other ministers asked him to take a leadership role because his relative newness to community leadership made it easier for him to speak out. King was hesitant but decided to do so if no one else wanted it. The boycott lasted for 385 days, and

27680-453: Was briefly known for him. Bohanna's portion of Great Barn Island was then resold in 1772 to Benjamin Hildreth, while John William Pinfold obtained the remainder of the island at that time. By then, Great Barn Island included an orchard, farms, pastures, and several buildings. Meanwhile, Little Barn (Randalls) Island had come under the ownership of Elias Pipon, Delavall's great grandson, by 1735. Pipon had emigrated from England in 1732 and

27853-502: Was cited for "driving without a license" because he had not yet been issued a Georgia license. King's Alabama license was still valid, and Georgia law did not mandate any time limit for issuing a local license. King paid a fine but was unaware that his lawyer agreed to a plea deal that included probation . Meanwhile, the Atlanta Student Movement had been acting to desegregate businesses and public spaces, organizing

28026-519: Was conspiring against her with communists—stabbed him in the chest with a letter opener, which nearly impinged on the aorta. King received first aid by police officers Al Howard and Philip Romano. King underwent emergency surgery by Aubre de Lambert Maynard , Emil Naclerio and John W. V. Cordice ; he remained hospitalized for several weeks. Curry was later found mentally incompetent to stand trial. In December 1959, after being based in Montgomery for five years, King announced his return to Atlanta at

28199-488: Was erected south of the Wards Island asylum by the early 1920s. After 27 people died in a fire at the Manhattan Psychiatric Center in 1923, investigators blamed the fire on overcrowding and said the island's fire apparatus could not sufficiently protect the island's buildings. The city was studying the possibility of erecting a sewage disposal plant on the island by that year. By 1926, the Manhattan State Hospital had an estimated population of 7,000. Additional buildings on

28372-657: Was established as a holiday in cities and states throughout the United States beginning in 1971; the federal holiday was first observed in 1986. The Martin Luther King ;Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was dedicated in 2011. Michael King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta ; he was the second of three children born to Michael King Sr. and Alberta King ( née  Williams ). Alberta's father, Adam Daniel Williams,

28545-419: Was facing overcrowding by the 1900s, and there were continuing concerns about the flammability of the buildings on Wards Island. The state agreed to sell its land on Randalls Island to the city in 1907, while the city concurrently planned to lease Wards Island to the state for a new psychiatric hospital. City government architect Raymond F. Almirall filed plans for a four-story nurses' home on Randalls Island

28718-447: Was given the option of forty-five days in jail or a $ 178 fine (equivalent to $ 1,800 in 2023); he chose jail. Three days into his sentence, Police Chief Laurie Pritchett discreetly arranged for King's fine to be paid and ordered his release. "We had witnessed persons being kicked off lunch counter stools ... ejected from churches ... and thrown into jail ... But for the first time, we witnessed being kicked out of jail." It

28891-459: Was jailed several times. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director J. Edgar Hoover considered King a radical and made him an object of the FBI's COINTELPRO from 1963 forward. FBI agents investigated him for possible communist ties, spied on his personal life, and secretly recorded him. In 1964, the FBI mailed King a threatening anonymous letter , which he interpreted as an attempt to make him commit suicide . On October 14, 1964 , King won

29064-500: Was later acknowledged by the King Center that Billy Graham was the one who bailed King out. After nearly a year of intense activism with few tangible results, the movement began to deteriorate. King requested a halt to all demonstrations and a "Day of Penance" to promote nonviolence and maintain the moral high ground. Divisions within the black community and the canny, low-key response by local government defeated efforts. Though

29237-582: Was on the west side of the island. An 1880s map indicates that the Children's Hospital buildings included an infant hospital, insane asylum, and the Randalls Island Hospital from west to east. Due to the poor sanitary conditions, many of the island's infants died from frequent epidemics. Within the Children's Hospital was the Asylum for Juvenile Idiots. There was also the Idiot School, created in 1867 to serve mentally disabled children. One newspaper from

29410-605: Was replaced by Ellis Island 's immigration station in 1892. That May, the city acquired the island, taking over 35 buildings on approximately 120 acres (49 ha). The Emigrant Hospital buildings became part of Wards Island's Insane Asylum, which was still beset by allegations of mismanagement. The Homeopathic Hospital relocated to Blackwell's (Roosevelt) Island in 1894, becoming the Metropolitan Hospital . The Manhattan State Hospital took over Wards Island's immigration and asylum buildings in 1896. Part of

29583-400: Was socially popular until he went bankrupt in 1739 and had to return to England. The island subsequently became known as Belle Isle or Belle Island. The New York Times describes an "amiable English gentlemen of quiet tastes", George Talbot, as being the next occupant of Pipon's house. Talbot definitely occupied the island by 1747, and the isle gained the name Talbot's Island. He died on

29756-467: Was split during the 18th century. Wouter Van Twiller , the Director General of New Netherland, obtained the island from two Lenape chiefs named Numers and Seyseys on July 16, 1637. Van Twiller only used the islands for raising livestock. Wards Island's first European name was Great Barent Island, while Randalls Island's first European name was Little Barent Island; both were named after

29929-625: Was used by the State Emigrant Refuge and the New York City Asylum for the Insane . Both islands also had potter's fields , or cemeteries for destitute people. The New York Commissioners of Emigration established Wards Island's first institution, the State Emigrant Hospital, in 1847. They leased some land in 1848, then bought additional land on the island's western shore. The two-story State Emigrant Hospital and

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