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On the 40th Anniversary of the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King

Forty years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King was shot in Memphis.  I have been to the Lorraine Motel, where he died on the landing just outside his second-story room, above where a plaque rests now that quotes from the story of Joseph in the Bible, "There goes the dreamer…let us kill him, and we will see what becomes of his dreams." The Lorraine is now Memphis' Civil Rights Museum.  There is a bus you can walk through, sit in, of the kind that Rosa Parks rode.   There is a lunch counter where you can watch an old film that teaches how to protest without violence.  There is a Bible marked "colored," used when a black witness took the stand, and there are several newspaper articles that call Dr. King a communist. At the Lorraine Motel, you can also listen to Dr. King give his last speech, on April 3, 1968.   He was in Memphis because there was a santitation workers' strike, and in so many ways this was a speech like many others he gave encouraging all the people working for justice not to give up.   Except in this speech, as Rev. Abernathy later said, he preached through his fear of death.   It's called the "Mountaintop" speech because of a reference to Moses, the leader who took his people all the way out of slavery in Egypt right up to the edge of the Promised Land.  On the Mountaintop, Moses saw a glimpse of the future he had worked so hard to reach, and he died there.    The Bible says that God Himself buried him, and his people could not find his remains. I never understood why God took Moses right then, at such a crucial time.   But if Moses was anything like his late descendant Martin, we can assume that he died at peace with his life and at peace with his God.  And we can trust that this same God will raise up a new generation, like that of Joshua, to serve His purposes and continue the work. The whole speech can be found here.  In honor of Dr. King and his dream, I will quote at length, because it's too good to edit much down: Now we're going to march again, and we've got to march again, in order to put the issue where it is supposed to be and force everybody to see that there are thirteen hundred of God's children here suffering, sometimes going hungry, going through dark and dreary nights wondering how this thing is going to come out. That's the issue. And we've got to say to the nation: We know how it's coming out. For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory. We aren't going to let any mace stop us. We are masters in our nonviolent movement in disarming police forces; they don't know what to do. I've seen them so often. I remember in Birmingham, Alabama, when we were in that majestic struggle there, we would move out of the 16th Street Baptist Church day after day; by the hundreds we would move out. And Bull Connor would tell them to send the dogs forth, and they did come; but we just went before the dogs singing, "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around." Bull Connor next would say, "Turn the fire hoses on." And as I said to you the other night, Bull Connor didn't know history. He knew a kind of physics that somehow didn't relate to the transphysics that we knew about. And that was the fact that there was a certain kind of fire that no water could put out. And we went before the fire hoses; we had known water. If we were Baptist or some other denominations, we had been immersed. If we were Methodist, and some others, we had been sprinkled, but we knew water. That couldn't stop us. * Now, let me say as I move to my conclusion that we've got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point in Memphis. We've got to see it through. And when we have our march, you need to be there. If it means leaving work, if it means leaving school, be there. Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike. But either we go up together, or we go down together. Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness… * Now, it doesn't matter, now. It really doesn't matter what happens now. I left Atlanta this morning, and as we got started on the plane, there were six of us. The pilot said over the public address system, "We are sorry for the delay, but we have Dr. Martin Luther King on the plane. And to be sure that all of the bags were checked, and to be sure that nothing would be wrong with the plane, we had to check out everything carefully. And we've had the plane protected and guarded all night." And then I got into Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really 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 so 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!