MLK’s Final Speech

April 4, 2008 by theo.johnson
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Society & Culture

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I wanted to share some links with you that give the full text of his speech given in support of the striking sanitation workers at Mason Temple in Memphis, TN on April 3, 1968. This was his final speech.

After reading the speech I had to ask myself how much have things really changed? Sure we have a lot more freedoms than before, but what lies in the hearts of man that we keep hidden in the name of being “politically correct”. We owe a lot to the men and women like Dr. King who were willing to put their lives on the line in the name of justice. There’s more to do and the time is now to get involved and make your mark in society. Here’s a passage from the speech that really stuck with me. If we can do this, change in inevitable.

Now, what does all of this mean in this great period of history? It means that we’ve got to stay together. We’ve got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the slaves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh’s court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that’s the beginning of getting out of slavery. Now let us maintain unity.

Here are some more links that you may want to check out: