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April 3, 1968:
Martin Luther King’s Mountaintop speech.
"I've Been to the Mountaintop" is the popular name of the final speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr on April 3, 1968. King spoke at the Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters) in Memphis, Tennessee.
The speech primarily concerns the Memphis sanitation strike. King calls for unity, economic actions, boycotts, and nonviolent protest, while challenging the United States to live up to its ideals. At the end of the speech, he discusses the possibility of an untimely death:
Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life; longevity has its place. 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 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! So 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!
King was fatally shot by James Earl Ray the next day as he stood on a motel second-floor balcony.
The Lorraine Motel, where King was assassinated, is now the site of the National Civil Rights Museum.
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