The McAllister family knew they had a front-row ticket to history when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his speech in front of then-segregated Girard College in Philadelphia in 1965, but they did not know there was a photograph of that day, writes Tom Kretschmer for 6abc.

Along with their mother, nine-year-old Curtis McAllister, his 12-year-old sister Learley, and brother Clyde attended the speech.

They were too young at the time to know who King was and how important his visit was, but they do remember the entire Philadelphia community buzzing with anticipation to hear the iconic civil rights leader.

“I remember my mom dressing us up all in white so we would stand out,” recalled Curtis, a community activist in Nicetown.

In 2010, Curtis was browsing the site of the Special Collections Research Center at Temple University Libraries and he found a photograph of that exact speech. It did not take him long to locate his whole family in the picture, standing front row at the iconic appearance.

“After 45 years I found the picture!” said Curtis.

It was a revelation for the surviving members of the family.

As a community activist, Curtis is committed to raising awareness for various causes around the city, while Learley is a lifelong educator.

Read more about the McAllister family in 6abc.

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