Remembering The Reason For This Holiday
On April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered what would be his final speech at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. He would be killed by an assassin's bullet the following day.
King was in Tennessee to support sanitation workers who were demanding better wages and working conditions.
King had not initially planned to deliver his speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” but he changed his mind after seeing the audience that had gathered.
“All we say to America is, ‘Be true to what you said on paper,’" King said, tying the promise of America’s founding to the biblical Promised Land.
Today, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, is a national holiday dedicated to remembering and honoring King's life and legacy. That remembrance is fitting; King now belongs to all of humanity, his moral stature far beyond our limited power to add or detract.