Sotheby's to Auction MLK Papers [audio 4min]

From history's vantage point, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s notes, papers and books are priceless. But the King family and the auction house Sotheby's estimate they're worth at least $15 million and possibly twice that. And they're about to go on the block. Museums and libraries, groups and individuals are busy raising funds to acquire the collection, while Atlanta natives are concerned that a cornerstone of the city's culture is about to be chipped away. Among the 7,000 items are drafts of famous speeches and sermons, such as "I Have a Dream" and "The Drum Major Instinct." There are papers showing the final revisions to King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." There's also a college essay that Sotheby's calls his earliest surviving theological writing. The collection goes on public display at Sotheby's New York galleries starting June 21. It will be auctioned off on June 30. ~Website offers extended story by Joshua Levs, photo gallery, link to Sotheby's catalog of the MLK Papers.