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
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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
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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
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KAMI *cxm*(i
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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'