Former WJBC news director Don Newberg (right) spoke with Martin Luther King Jr. (right) in 1961. (Adam Studzinski/WJBC)

By Adam Studzinski

BLOOMINGTON – As the nation remembers Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, a former WJBC news director looked back on an opportunity he had to interview King in the early 60's.

Don Newberg spoke with King prior to a speech he gave in 1961 at Illinois Wesleyan University. Newberg told WJBC's Dan Swaney King was just beginning to become recognized in the civil rights movement at the time.

"He had really been working at it, but it was nothing widespread like it became when he came back in 1966," he said.

Newberg said when King spoke in 1961 it was to a crowd of roughly 300. But when he returned in 1966, he had given his famous "I have a dream" speech and spoke to much larger audience closer to 3,000.

Newberg added when he first sat down with King he knew immediately how well King understood the English language.

"(He was) one of those kind of people who you either recognize the fact the you're in the presence of the person who knows what he is doing and knows how to do it," said Newberg. "He was that kind of a person."

Newberg said their conversation was informal and did not recall exactly what King and he spoke about.

"I'm sure we probably would have talked about some of the things that were on his mind at that time and how he was proceeding," said Newberg. "Because he was really beginning to make his presence known."

According to Newberg, with King what you saw was what you got – he was the same person when he was speaking as he was when just sitting down and talking.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].