43 years on the world respectfully remembers Martin Luther King Jr.

Published: April 04, 2020

“Early morning, April 4^th; a shot rings out in the Memphis sky… Free at last, they took your life but they could not take your pride.”

So go the words to U2’s timeless classic, Pride in the Name of Love, a soaring anthemic tribute to a freedom fighter and civil rights leader whose battle cost him his life, but left such a deeply profound mark on the hearts and souls of every life he touched that he can never be forgotten.

Although King epitomises the term ‘martyr’ it was not a willing death; he didn’t step into battle against evil-doers knowing that he would die as a result of his passions. He was a victim of his own utter humanity; a man driven by his desire to realise equal rights for people of all races, colours and religions; to see an end to the hypocrisy of America’s secret apartheid.

Perhaps his message of equality backed by non-violent conflict was too much for some people to handle, especially those of a more right wing extreme, and he certainly posed a threat to industrialists and other corporate bodies who stood to lose out on cheap labour should their slaves be woken up to the reality of lower income and poorer working conditions than their white counterparts.

And so it was on April 4^th, 1968, 100 years after Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation of Emancipation, that Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the balcony of his hotel and addressed a crowd of 200,000 people who had gathered to support his efforts to assist sanitation workers. He was shot and killed aged just 39 years of age.

“I have a dream,” said Martin Luther King Jr.

On Sunday 3^rd April, 2011 Martin Luther King III attended the St. Sabina Catholic Church in Chicago where he gave a rousing speech dedicated to his father’s memory. Clearly influenced by his ideologies he said: “I’m sick and tired of people singing about King, rapping about King, even using King to justify policies that we all know he would be against as opposed to embracing the ideals of King. Trying to love your neighbour, like King. Trying to help the poor like King.”

Through his son and every heart he spoke to, the dream lives on.

 

Please share your thoughts on Martin Luther King Jr’s life and his legacy of improved equality by leaving a comment.

Read about Martin Luther King III honour speech; John F. Kennedy‘s assassination; JFK’s inaugural speech; Salman Taseer‘s assassination and the odd conspiracy surroundng Sirhan Sirhan.

images: top-10-list.org; screenrant.com

 

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Published April 04, 2020 by Lee in Celebrities
Tags: anniversary, assassination, martin luther king jr