Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Jan. 13, 1994, edition 1 / Page 35
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Dr. King's Last Sermon (The foltoAing sermon was delivered*b\ Dr. Martin ftuther King Jr. shortly before his d^ath on April 4, 1 96Hj % ( > I k Ever} now and then I ^uess We all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with v\hat is life's final common denomi nator ? that something we call death. , We all think about it. and even, now and then I think about my own death and I think about my own funeral. And 1 don't think about it in a morbid sense. And even, now and then 1 ask mvself what is it that I would want said, and I leave the word to you this morning. If any of you are around when 1 have to meet mv dav ... I don't want a long funeral. And if you get some body to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. And every now and then I wonder w hat I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize ... that isn't important. Tell them not to mention thai Thav^300l)T400ottier~j awards ... that's not important. Tell j thpm not to mention where I. went to SCh(K)l. J'd like somebody to mention that day. that \lanm Luther King Jr. tried to give hi\ life serving others. I'd like for somebod\ to sa> that das that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to los e somebods . I want you to say that day that I tried to be right and to walk with them. I want you to be able to say ?that das that 1 did try to feed the hungry. I want you to be able to say. that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. And I want you to say that I tri-ed to love and serve _ humanity. 3 Yes. if you want to say that I was a drum major ... say that I was a drum major for justice. Say (hat I was a drum major for peace ... I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won't have any money to leave behind. 1 won't have the "fine and luxurious things of life to leave , behind. But I just want to leave a ' comrmtted hfe behind. And that'v all I want to say. v If I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a wewd-rrfsong, if I can show some MARTIN 1929 i/.y i ci-m i j . " w :: :&nm tody he V traveling wrong. then my living wHJ not be in vain. If I can do my duty as a Christian ought, if 1 can bring salva tion to'a world once wrought, if I can spread the me^ape as the Master taught, then my living wilT" not be in vain. Yes. Jesus. I want to be on your right or your left side ... not for any "selfish reason. 1 want to be on your right or your left side ... not in terms of some political kingdom or ambi tion. But I just want to be there in love and in justice and in truth and can make of this old world ... a new world. Selected Moments from the Life of the Man They Called King ? King responded to the con tinuing violence in 1064 ? the death s of the three civil rights work ers in Mississippi, the ghetto riots in Harlem, He dford -S t u v v esant , Philadelphia ? in his speech at Oslo, where in December he became the, youngest person, at 35, ? m win the Nobel Peace Prize: I am mindful that only yester day in Birmingham, Ala., our chil dren. crying out tor brotherhood, were a/i s w ered -with fire hoses . snarling dogs and -even death. 1 am mindful that only yesterday in ^Ptrrhrcftrtphia. Miss., young people seeking to secure the right to vote were brutalized and murdered. ... Therefore. I must ask why this prize awarded to a movement which is beleaguered ... which has not won ? 'mc very peace and brotherhood which is the essence of the Nobel Prize. After-contemplation. 1 conclude that this award which I received on behalf of that movement is profound ) recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time ? the need tor man to overcome oppres sion and violence without resorting to violence and oppression. ? In March /9 6.5. when he spoke on the steps of the Alabama c lubbings and violent deaths in the Selma voter registration campaign and the successful march to Montgomery, he reaffirmed his faith in the nonviolent movement: Last Sunday we started on a - mirhty 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 knownhar weare here and that we ~ are standing before the forces of power in the state of Alabama say ing, "We ain't goin* to let nobody turn us around." There never was a moment in Ajnerican history more honorable and more inspiring than the pilgrim age of clergymen and laymen of every race and faith pouring into S^lma- to face danger at the side of it$ embattled Negroes. ? Our whole campaign in A|abama has been centered around thE right to vote. j We are on the move now. The i ? ? * burning of our churches will not d^ter us. ... We are on the move n<jw. The beating and killing of our clergymen and young people will ntft divert us. We are on the move ndw. ; Let us therefore continue our tritimph and march. ..fL^t us march oil segregated housing. ... Let us march on segregated schools. ... Let usj march on poverty. T.. Let us m^rch on ballot boxes. | I know you are asking today, "How long will it take?" I come to say to vou this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frus i Dr. Martin Luther King trating the hour, it will not be long, because truth pressed to earth will rise again. How long? Not long, because no lie can live fofever. How long'7 Not long, because you still reap what you sow. How long? Not long. Because the arm of the moral universe ... bends toward justice. ? On March 28, 1968, King of black sanitation workers who went out on strike when they received wages for only two hours on a Jay when work was canceled because- of rain, while white work erg received a full day's pay. Black mm t ants disrupted the march, Jo the distress of King and~SCLC tedders,' but they returned to Memphis deter mined to lead a nonviolent demon stration. There were rumors of threats on King s life^ bui suc-h rumors were not unfamiliar and had shadowed the man since the days and nights of the Montgomery bus boycott 1 3 years earlier. On April 3, 1968, King delivered his last speech to 2.000 cheering supporters in the Mason Temple of Memphis : I'rii ust happy that God has allowed me to live in this period, to see what is unfading. 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 anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be peo ple. 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 maintain unity. ? The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings . ... / don't know -what will h now . We've got some .difficult days ahead But it doesn't matter vtith me . now. Because I've been to the mountaintnp And I don't mind ? Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. ... 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 1 >e looked over. And I've seen the promised land. 1 may nor get there with you But 1 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 anx thing. I'm nol fearing any man. Mint eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord OOL.DEX STATE MUTUAL Ij I FK C, HOMfc OFFICE: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA WE STILL SUPPORT THE DREAM Onlrtpn Statp Mutual 1 ,ifp 1225 E. Fifth Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 910-723-0546 William Fulton, . District Manager , "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. " . ? Mux. \Lirim IM* hum At ? Helping people realize their dreams is the nest to make loans available in neoole with <!><ria! ^ romrs t0 senjCCt nerMhinu nuilltr*.' \va\ \v e know how to honor Dr. King's memory credit needs - to conduct live financial semi V Kirst I nion. we na\e a commitment to the nars that help turn \our dreams irHo reality Sn t communities where we live and work - to come talk. We like to listen. And we're rends to & invest in them - to promote business - help. First Union National Banks KAMI *cxm*(i LENDER fiHI FiTv I ntn'i * .tirtmntfiun Hnukvu ?l'! >*'??< <.,? /?'.'? <r" to. \1,ir\;,nwl \nri!> (?trohn,i ^ntiih ( ;ir<< ' < b i irtu/U'i , in: \f, ? r i-Vi'
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Jan. 13, 1994, edition 1
35
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