Friday, April 4, 2008

I've Been to the Mountaintop

On April 3rd, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "Mountaintop" speech (Audio at American Rhetoric) to a crowd in Memphis, Tennessee. At the climax, he addressed concerns about his possible assassination. The next day, he was killed while standing on a balcony at the Lorraine Motel.

That evening, in Indianapolis, Robert Kennedy gave a speech informing attendees at a political rally of the event. While other American cities were engulfed with violence following the assassination, Indianapolis remained calm, a fact often credited to Kennedy's eloquent and sensitive remarks.

2 comments:

bluesngrass said...

Yeah. I remember watching a documentary on ETV about this. People say he was really spooked out that night. Good post Jon.

copeland said...

What a powerful fucking speech. Every time of heard it gives me goosebumps. I have actually met Benjamin Hooks who is also mentioned in the article - he was one of my first patients as an intern. Wonderful man.