Selected Moments from King's Life
"? King responded
to the continuing vio
lence in 1964-the deaths
of the three civil rights
workers in Mississ^ppi,
the ghetto riots in
Harlem, Bedford
Stuyvesant,
Philadelphia-his speech
at Oslo, where in I
December he became
the youngest person, at
35, to win jhe Nob&l
Peace Prize:
I am mindful that
only ?.yesterday in
Birmingham, Ala., our
children, crying out for '
brotherhood, were
answered with fire
hoses, snarling dogs and
even death. I am mind
ful that only yesterday
in Philadelphia, Miss.,
young people seeking to
secure the right to vote
were brutalized and mur
dered. ,. . . Therefore, I must
ask why this prize is awarded
to a movement which is belea
guered. . .which has not won
the very peace and brother
hood which is the essence of
the Nobel Prize.
After contemplation, I con
clude that this award which I
received on behalf of that
movement is profound recog
nition that nonviolence is the
answer to the crucial political
and moral question of our
time-the need for many to
overcome oppression and vio
lence without resorting to vio
lence and oppression.
?In March 1965, w hen he
spoke on the steps of the
Alabama State Capitol follow -
ing the tear gas, clubbings and
violent deaths in the Seltna
voter registration campaign
and the successful march to
Montgomery, he reaffirmed his
Martin Luther King with one of his children.
and killing of our clergymen
and young people will not
divert us. We are on the move
now.
Let us therefore continue
our triumph and march. . .
.Let us march on segregated
housing. . . .Let us march on
segregated schools. . . .Let us
march on poverty. . . .Let us
march on ballot boxes.
I know you are asking
today, "How long will it take?"
I come to say to you this after
noon, however difficult the
moment, however frustrating
the hour, it will not be long
because truth pressed to earth
will rise again.
How long? Not long,
because no lie can live forever.
How long? Not long,
because you still reap what
you sow.
H o w long? Not long,
because the arm of the moral
they relumed to
Memphis deter
mined to lead </_
ft o n v i o I e n/t
demonstration.
There were
rumors of
threats on
King's life, but
such rumors
were not unfa
miliar and had
shadowed the
man sinee the
days and nights
of the
Montgomery
bus boycott 13
years earlier.
On April 3,
1968, King
delivered his
last speech to
2,000 cheering
supporters in
the Mason
Temple of
Memphis:
I'm just happy that God _
has allowed me to live in this
period, to see what is unfold
ing. And I'm happy he's
allowed me to be in Memphis.
. . .We mean business now and
we are determined to gain our
rightful place in God's world.
And that's all this whole-thing
is about.
We aren't engaged in any
negative protest and in any
negative arguments with any
body. We ape saying that we
are determined to be men. We
are determined to be people.
We are saying that we are
God's children. And that we
don't have to live like we are
forced to live.
. Now, what does all of this
mean in this great period of
history? It means that we've
got to stay together and main
tain unity.
JK411/1 IH If IC HUHVIU' f
lent movement:
Last Sunday
we started on a
mighty walk from
Selma, Ala. . .
.They told us we
wouldn't get here.
And there were
those who said that
we would get here
only over their
dead bodies, but
all the world today
know? that we are
here and that wc-i
are standing before j
the forces of
power in the state
of Alabama say
ing, "We ain't
goin' to let nobody
turn us arpund."
There never Jl?
was a moment in ?
American history more honor
able and more inspiring than
the pilgrimage of clergymen
and laymen of every race and
faith pouring into Selma to
face danger at the side of its
embattled Negroes. Our v. hole
campaign in Alabama has been
centered around the right to
vote.
We are on the move now.
The burning of our churches
will not deter us. . . .We are
on the move now. The beating
universe. . .bends toward jus
tice.
"? On March 28, 1968,
King agreed to lead a march in
Memphis of black sanitation
workers who went out on strike
when they received wfrges for
only two hours on a day when
work was canceled because\of
rain, while white workers
received a full day's pay.
Black militants disrupted
the march, to the distress of
King and SCLC leaders, but
my four little chil
Jdrer^^one day |
Mpihation where they
/ill not be judged by the
olor of their skin, but by the
tent of their character. "
nil, mmm
IP/: Martin Luther King, Jr.
- i ii tr i /?>
njustice. The issue
s the refusal of
Memphis to be fair
ind honest in its
iealings . . .1 don't
.now what will
tappen now. We've
]ot some difficult
lays ahead. But it
ioesn't matter with
ne now, because
"ve been to the
nountaintop. *
And / don 7
n i nd.?Like a n y -
iody, I would like
o live a long life.
. But I'm not
:oncerned about
hat now. I just
vant to do God's
>vill, and He's
illowed 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.
Facts About Martin Luther King
tKUM PAUL 5
1966
? March-U.S. Supreme
court rules poll tax unconstitu
tional.
? Spring-King tours
Alabama to help elect black can
didates. For first time since
Reconstruction a number of
blacks vote in the Alabama pri
mary.
? May-A King antiwar
statements is read at a
Washington rally to protest the
war in Vietnam. King agrees to
serve as co-chairman of Clergy
and Laymen Concerned About
Vietnam.
? July-King launches a
drive to make Chicago an "open
city" in regard to housing.
? August-King is stoned in
Chicago while leading a inarch
through crowds of angry whites.
? t September-SCLC
launches a project to integrate
the public schools of Grenda.
Mississippi and initiates the
Alabama Citizen Education
Project in Wilcox County.
1967
? January-King writes
Where Do We Go From Here?
? March-The desegrega
tion of public schools is ordered
in Alabama. Dr. King attacks
U.S. policy in Vietnam in
Chicago speech.
? A p r i 1 - K1 n g makes
"Beyond Vietnam" speech at
Riverside Church in New York
City.
? July-Riots in Neward.
New Jersey and Detroit,
Michigan. Dr. King and other
prominent black leaders call for
an end to the riots.
? October-Supreme Court
upholds the contempt of court
:onvictions of Dr. King and
:ither black leaders who led the
1963 marches in Birmingham.
Ala.
? November-King
announces the formation of a
Poor People's Campaign by
SCLC to address the problems
of the poor-black and white.
1968
? March-King lead 6.000
protesters on a march through
downtown Memphis is support
of striking sanitation workers.
? April -King delivers his
last speech "I've Been to the
Mountain Top/' at the Memphis
Masonic Temple. On the 4th. Dr.
King is assassinated. He dies in
St Joseph's Hospital
WSTA
Notice
p
? v The Winston-Salem Transit
Authority will he closed,
January /5th
in commemoration ot
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
HOLIDAY
Regular service will resume
on Tuesday January 16th.
For mor information, call
727-2060 ?
Charles Peed & Associates
Remember Martin Luther King Jr.
on This Special Day
"Everybody can be great. Because
anybody can serve. You don't have to
have a college degree to serve. You
don't have to make your subject and
your verb agree to serve. You don't
hive to know about Plato and Aristotle
to serve. You dont have to know Ein
stein's theory of relativity to serve. You
dont have to know thesecond theory
of thermodynamics In physics to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace. A
soul generated by love."
Charles O. Peed
Charles Peed & Associates
I i
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY
January 15, 1996
A Celebration and an Inspiration
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