In 1963, Martin Luther King gave the notes for his “I Have A Dream” speech to Villanova Basketball Ball star and coach, George Raveling. Raveling donated the notes to the University and the school is lending them to The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).
According to the Smithsonian’s website – The museum will showcase the artifact in the “Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom” gallery beginning Aug. 28, commemorating the day of the march. The speech, on loan from Villanova University, will be on view in a newly installed case alongside other objects associated with King…
For decades, King’s speech has been in the possession of former collegiate basketball player and coach George Raveling, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, who was volunteering as security at the 1963 March on Washington. Raveling never intended to be on stage with King, let alone receive what would become one of the most famous speeches ever given. He was an assistant men’s basketball coach at Villanova University in 1963 when he and a friend, Warren Wilson, traveled to Washington, D.C., to hear Dr. King speak. On the day before the speeches, Wilson and Raveling were asked to volunteer as security. They accepted, and the following day they were on stage with the likes of John Lewis, A. Philip Randolph and King. According to Raveling, only pure impulse compelled him to ask King for his copy of the speech, and King gave it to him.
Recently, Villanova University became the steward of the artifact and has entered into a long-term loan agreement with the museum to display the speech.
In 2015, Sports Illustrated ran a story about Raveling, describing his “massive collection.” They wrote – Raveling needs three storage units for all the items he has collected. There is, however, one souvenir so special that he stores it separately, at a secure location. The item is worth millions of dollars, but he will not sell it. It is too -important — to him, to his race and to his country.
In the Summer of 1967, Raveling coached a team in the Narberth Summer League that included future NBA players, Howard Porter and Artis Gilmore.