I originally posted the following video and commentary onto my Facebook wall…
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Prophetic Last Speech:
My Commentary: Commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday by listening to his very last speech, which he delivered on April 3, 1968, at the Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters) in Memphis, Tennessee – the day before he was murdered in an effort to silence his voice.
The COWARDS-THAT-BE will simply NEVER UNDERSTAND that “IDEAS ARE BULLETPROOF,” and, therefore, CANNOT DIE!!!!!
______________________________________________________
Here is the transcript of his speech:
“Be true to what you said on paper. If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand some of thes…e illegal injunctions. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn’t committed themselves to that over there.
But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. And so just as I say, we aren’t going to let dogs or water hoses turn us around, we aren’t going to let any injunction turn us around.
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. 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 on 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!”
(Update: the original YouTube video taken down, so it was replaced with a newer link)
(All original portions of this work, by Rayn Kleipe, are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, while all redistributed links, images, sounds, videos, and writings are protected under 17 U.S.C. § 107: Fair Use, or under Public Domain)
Pingback: Discussing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on His Birthday - AcidRayn.com