Memories of Attending King’s Funeral, His Impact on Cleveland Ave YMCA

Dr. Martin Luther King Junior was assassinated 50 years ago on April 4, 1968.
Memories of him and the legacy he left behind are shared by people throughout Montgomery and the world.

John Oliver works on the program staff at the Cleveland Avenue YMCA. He was the student council president at Carver High School in 1968.
The then-principal, William Thompson, was friends with King but decided to allow Oliver to take his plane ticket and attend the funeral in Atlanta.
Oliver says it was an experience he will never forget.

“It was exciting. A tremendous affair, well put together. Very orderly. Hundreds of thousands of people and a new experience, exposure of being in a big city. And there was expression of sadness but there was also a celebration, celebrating the greatness of the man rather than the tragedy of our losing him,” said Oliver.

King was actually a founding father of the Cleveland Avenue YMCA.
He gave donated $20,000 dollars to purchase the land and start construction in 1959.