40th anniversary of King’s death
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- April
- 3
Tomorrow will mark the 40th anniversary of the death of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
It was just one day prior — on April 3, 1968 — that King gave his seminal and celebrated “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, in which he foreshadowed his own death.
Speaking at the Mason Temple in Memphis, where he had gone to supporting striking sanitation workers, he talked of attempts and threats on his life, asking what that would mean for him.
“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
The next day, April 4, King was shot as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. He was 39.
His death plunged the nation into turmoil, sparking riots in more than 100 cities.
His killer, James Earl Ray, died in prison in 1998 while serving a 99-year sentence for King’s murder.
During a celebration of King’s birth in January, the Rev. Ucall Harris delivered a sermon at Pilgrim Baptist Church that addressed the longevity of King’s dream.
Listen to a brief report of the service here: Download:
This entry was posted
on Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 at 7:15 pm by Suzan Clarke.
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I’d love to see a more serious reflection on King’s whole career every year when MLK Day comes around, rather than just the “I have a dream” stuff that we get.
King was very controversial in his day, and there seems to be little sense of that today. It’s as if people don’t really understand the whole picture, or appreciate what he was up against. Maybe that’s a testament to his (partial) success, but I still think we do his whole movement a disservice by implying that King was noncontroversial in his day.
I also think the latter years of his life ought to be studied more. I think that his movement went off the rails when King bought into the idea that government programs were the answer to improve the economic condition of blacks. The movement King once headed believes that to this day, and that belief has done a lot to stall progress in my opinion.
RIP, Dr. King.