Listen: Unheard Martin Luther King Jr. interview uncovered

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Previously unheard audio of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. has been discovered by a man in Chattanooga.

The Associated Press, which first obtained the audio, reported that Stephon Tull uncovered the audio reel labeled, “Dr. King interview, Dec. 21, 1960″ while searching through his attic several months ago. Tull’s father had interviewed King for a book he planned to write about racism, but he never finished.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he told The Associated Press. “I found … a lost part of history.”

In the audio recording, King discusses the progress of the civil rights movement, saying historians would note it as one of the “one of the greatest epochs of our heritage.”

King also discusses his definition of nonviolent civil disobedience and his trip to Africa.

“I had the opportunity to talk with most of the major leaders of the new independent countries of Africa, and also leaders in countries that are moving toward independence,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “And I think all of them agree that in the United States we must solve this problem of racial injustice if we expect to maintain our leadership in the world.”

Listen to a portion of the interview, courtesy of the Associated Press, below: