From The Reverend King's "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech on April 3, 1968:
It's all right to talk about "long white robes over yonder," in all of its symbolism. But ultimately people want some suits and dresses and shoes to wear down here. It's all right to talk about "streets flowing with milk and honey," but God has commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here, and his children who can't eat three square meals a day. It's all right to talk about the new Jerusalem, but one day, God's preachers must talk about the New York, the new Atlanta, the new Philadelphia, the new Los Angeles, the new Memphis, Tennessee. This is what we have to do.King was assassinated the following day. The speech in its entirety is here.
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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.
PRAYER:
Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant you led your people out of slavery, and made them free at last: Grant that your Church, following the example of your prophet Martin Luther King, may resist oppression in the name of your love, and may secure for all your children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.Readings:
Psalm 77:11-20
Genesis 37:17b-20
Ephesians 6:10-20
Luke 6:27-36
Repost from the feast day in 2008.
The day of 4 April is burned into my heart, then a boy in Birmingham. Who can now doubt that MLK,Jr. is as great as any prophet of the Hebrew scriptures? I just wonder how those of us who lived through that strangely vibrant "thin place" of the Deep South of the sixties can let our succeeding generations know of the power and wonder we saw and felt.
ReplyDeleteCongressman John Lewis spoke at my parish a couple of weeks ago, specifically to remember the beloved community that marched from Selma 46 years ago. When a white man of a certain age rose, announced his home was Selma, and hugged John Lewis for the hero he is, the old electricity returned, and the packed hall erupted in sustained applause. Many wept.
We have known angels and saints, and there is no liberal like a Southern liberal.
John D, we were living in Hammond, Louisiana, at the time, and I remember the horror we felt at the time of the MLK's assassination. I also remember the horror of "Bloody Sunday", the response to the attempted 1st march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965.
ReplyDeleteNor can I forget my pharisaical thinking at the time, "Thank goodness we're not as bad as Alabama!" Not that the response in Louisiana was right by any means, but there you have it. That was the truth of it.
As a 15 year old English teenager at the time, becoming politically aware, and having few 'coloured' friends at the time, racism was still pretty acute in the UK, though perhaps not as entrenched as in parts of the US. From the death of JFK through images of Vietnam, as we grew into our teens, the death of MLK seemed to bring the period to a head, with such sadness; and yet it was inspiring in that it seemed to suggest that surely this must be it, the final straw - surely we must get the message now. It's strange the effect events can have on you in your formative years. These events still strike a cord with me now, perhaps more than any since.
ReplyDeleteRon, the 1960s Civil Rights struggles were difficult and, all too often, frightening times. And the battle is not yet over for African-Americans nor for other ethnic and racial groups, despite the fact that we have an African-American president. Racism and prejudice against those seen as "other" is alive and well, but at least the law, if not the reality, is on the side of equality.
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