My favorite Spirit-led speech from the Honorable Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ive Been to the Moutaintop. (Last 25 minutes of the sermon) April 3rd, 1968 (less than 24 hours prior to being assassinated on April 4th, 1968). Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. And I want to thank God, once more, for allowing me to be here with you. You know, several years ago, I was in New York City autographing the first book that I had written. And while sitting there autographing books, a demented black woman came up. The only question I heard from her was, Are you Martin Luther King? And I was looking down writing, and I said, Yes. And the next minute I felt something beating on my chest. Before I knew it I had been stabbed by this demented woman. I was rushed to Harlem Hospital. It was a dark Saturday afternoon. And that blade had gone through, and the X-rays revealed that the tip of the blade was on the edge of my aorta, the main artery. And once thats punctured, your drowned in your own blood -- thats the end of you. It came out in the New York Times the next morning, that if I had merely sneezed, I would have died. Well, about four days later, they allowed me, after the operation, after my chest had been opened, and the blade had been taken out, to move around in the wheel chair in the hospital. They allowed me to read some of the mail that came in, and from all over the states and the world, kind letters came in. I read a few, but one of them I will never forget. I had received one from the President and the Vice-President. Ive forgotten what those telegrams said. Id received a visit and a letter from the Governor of New York, but Ive forgotten what that letter said. But there was another letter that came from a little girl, a young girl who was a student at the White Plains High School. And I looked at that letter, and Ill never forget it. It said simply, Dear Dr. King,I am a ninth-grade student at the White Plains High School. And she said, While it should not matter, I would like to mention that Im a white girl. I read in the paper of your misfortune, and of your suffering. And I read that if you had sneezed, you would have died. And Im simply writing you to say that Im so happy that you didnt sneeze. And I want to say tonight -- I want to say tonight that I too am happy that I didnt sneeze. Because if I had sneezed, I wouldnt have been around here in 1960, when students all over the South started sitting-in at lunch counters. And I knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for the best in the American dream, and taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.If I had sneezed, I wouldnt have been around here in 1961, when we decided to take a ride for freedom and ended segregation in inter-state travel.If I had sneezed, I wouldnt have been around here in 1962, when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided to straighten their backs up. And whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a man cant ride your back unless it is bent.If I had sneezed -- If I had sneezed I wouldnt have been here in 1963, when the black people of Birmingham, Alabama, aroused the conscience of this nation, and brought into being the Civil Rights Bill.If I had sneezed, I wouldnt have had a chance later that year, in August, to try to tell America about a dream that I had had.If I had sneezed, I wouldnt have been down in Selma, Alabama, to see the great Movement there.If I had sneezed, I wouldnt have been in Memphis to see a community rally around those brothers and sisters who are suffering.Im so happy that I didnt sneeze.And they were telling me --. Now, it doesnt matter, now. It really doesnt matter what happens now. I left Atlanta this morning, and as we got started on the plane, there were six of us. The pilot said over the public address system, We are sorry for the delay, but we have Dr. Martin Luther King on the plane. And to be sure that all of the bags were checked, and to be sure that nothing would be wrong with on the plane, we had to check out everything carefully. And weve had the plane protected and guarded all night. And then I got into Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I dont know what will happen now. Weve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesnt matter with me now, because Ive been to the mountaintop. And I dont mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But Im not concerned about that now. I just want to do Gods will. And Hes allowed me to go up to the mountain. And Ive looked over. And Ive 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! And so Im happy, tonight. Im not worried about anything. Im not fearing any man! Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!! youtu.be/Oehry1JC9Rk
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 18:15:40 +0000
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