King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970)

1. We are not going to let these white people come into our neighborhood and kill us!

2. We are going to put every cracker in Atlanta on his knees!

3. We want black power! We want black power!

4. We want black power! We want black power!

5. We want black power! We want black power!

6. We want black power! We want black power!

7. We have a power. Yeah.

8. Power that can't be found in Molotov cocktails.

9. But we do have a power.

10. A power that cannot be found in bullets and in guns.

11. But we have a power.

12. Yeah. That's right.

13. It is a power as old as the insights of Jesus of Nazareth

14. and is modern as the techniques of Mohandas K. Gandhi.

15. This country has never cared about black people. That's right.

16. They don't give two damns about us.

17. And all of us always turn around

18. worrying about, "What's good for America? What's good?"

19. Later for America.

20. What's good for black people? That's what we wanna know.

21. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality,

22. tied in a single garment of destiny.

23. And whatever affects one directly

24. affects all indirectly.

25. For some strange reason, I can never be what I ought to be

26. until you are what you ought to be.

27. The rich man can never be what he ought to be

28. until the poor man is what he ought to be.

29. John Donne caught it years ago and placed it in graphic terms.

30. "No man is an island entire of itself.

31. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main."

32. And then he goes on toward the end to say,

33. "Any man's death diminishes me

34. because I'm involved in mankind,

35. and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls.

36. It tolls for thee."

37. What I hate to see is one of these politicians running for office.

38. "I represent all of the people."

39. Well, hell, if I ever run,

40. I ain't representin' nobody but black folks!

41. The hell with all! All I'm interested in is black folks!

42. We must never forget

43. that there are some white people in the United States

44. just as determined to see us free as we ought to be free ourselves.

45. We must never forget that there were two lads

46. by the name of Michael Schwerner and Andy Goodman from New York City—

47. white lads who died right here for our freedom.

48. We must never forget that it was Reverend James Reeb,

49. a white Unitarian minister who died in Alabama for our freedom.

50. We must never forget that it was Mrs. Viola Liuzzo

51. who died on Highway 8 in Alabama for our freedom.

52. And so I say, together we must solve this problem.

53. The time for talking is over, brothers. We at war. Right.

54. Get that thing on out of here.

55. This ain't no civil rights movement no more.

56. The civil rights movement is dead, and thank goodness.

57. That's your enemy out there.

58. That is your enemy. Don't you forget it. 'Cause I ain't, honky.

59. We are at war. Right.

60. Caught behind the enemy's lines.

61. You better get you some guns. Don't you forget it.

62. They scared of my rifle. Wait till I get me an atomic bomb.

63. Who has a victory of killing and lynching people

64. and throwing 'em in rivers?

65. It's our oppressors,

66. and now people are telling me to stoop down to that level.

67. Oh, no. Oh, no!

68. The reason that I will not do it

69. is that I'm not gonna allow anybody to pull me so low

70. as to use the very method

71. that has perpetuated evil throughout our civilization.

72. I'm sick and tired of violence.

73. I'm tired of the war in Vietnam. Yes, sir!

74. I'm tired of war and conflict in the world.

75. I'm tired of shooting. I'm tired of hate.

76. I'm tired of selfishness.

77. I'm tired of evil.

78. I'm not gonna use violence, no matter who says it.

79. Sometimes—

80. Yes. Sometimes the good Lord—

81. I say sometimes the good Lord accepts his own perfection

82. and closes his eyes

83. and goes ahead and takes his own good time,

84. and he makes himself a man.

85. Yes.

86. And sometimes that man gets hold of the idea

87. of what it is possible for him to do.

88. And that man lets that idea guide him

89. as he grows and struggles and stumbles in sorrows

90. until finally he comes into his own God-given shape

91. and achieves his own individual and lonely place in this world.

92. It doesn't happen very often.

93. Oh, no.

94. But when it does,

95. then even the stones will cry out in witness to his vision,

96. and the hills and towers will echo his words and deeds,

97. and his examples will live in the hearts of men forever.

98. The master doesn't make many like that,

99. because that kind of man is dangerous to the sloppy ways of the world.

100. That kind of man loves truth even more than he loves his life

101. or his wife or his children.

102. Because he's been designated and set aside

103. to do the hard tasks that have to be done.

104. That kind of man will do what he sees is justice,

105. even if the earth yawns and swallows him down.

106. And even then,

107. his deeds will persist in the land forever.

108. So you look at him.

109. You look at him a while,

110. and be thankful that the Lord let such a man touch our lives.

111. Even if it were for only a little while.

112. We are here this evening for serious business.

113. It has been moved and seconded

114. that the resolution that was read will be received and adopted.

115. Are you ready for the question?

116. All in favor, let it be known by standing on your feet.

117. That was the day

118. that we started a bus protest

119. which literally electrified the nation.

120. And that was the day when we decided

121. that we were not going to take segregated buses any longer.

122. And, you know, when we planned the bus boycott,

123. we said if we could just get about 50 or 60 percent

124. of the Negroes of Montgomery not to ride buses,

125. this would be an effective boycott.

126. I think that whole day

127. we found eight Negroes on the buses.

128. And from that day on,

129. that boycott was more than 99.9 percent effective.

130. For several weeks now,

131. we the Negro citizens of Montgomery

132. have been involved in a nonviolent protest

133. against the injustices which we have experienced on the buses

134. for a number of years.

135. We feel that we are right.

136. We have a legitimate gripe, a legitimate protest.

137. And we feel also that one of the great glories of American democracy

138. is that we have the right to protest for right.

139. We will do it in an orderly fashion.

140. This is a nonviolent protest.

141. We are depending on moral and spiritual forces,

142. using the method of passive resistance.

143. I remember that Monday morning

144. when I was subpoenaed to be in court.

145. Well.

146. The chief defender.

147. Many things ran through my mind.

148. And I started thinking about the people.

149. All day long, trying to think of something to say to the people.

150. Finally, I got to talk. Okay, Martin.

151. My words were fumbling a bit.

152. Let us fight passionately and unrelentingly

153. for the goals of justice and peace.

154. Let's be sure that our hands are clean in this struggle.

155. Let us never fight with falsehood

156. and violence and hate and malice.

157. But always fight with love so that when the day comes

158. that the walls of segregation have completely crumbled in Montgomery

159. that we will be able to live with people as their brothers and sisters.

160. We still advocate nonviolence with passive resistance

161. and still determine to use the weapon of love.

162. We are still insisting emphatically

163. that violence is self-defeating,

164. that he who lives by the sword will perish by the sword.

165. Thank you, sir.

166. Are you gonna ride the bus again?

167. No!

168. It is true that 115 of us

169. have been indicted by the grand jury.

170. Yet, our actions as of this day

171. have not as yet been found to be illegal.

172. The carpool and all we have done in this struggle continue.

173. I say to you, my friends, rise up

174. and know that if you struggle for justice,

175. you do not struggle alone for God struggles with you.

176. Freedom is never given to anybody,

177. for the oppressor has you in domination

178. because he plans to keep you there,

179. and he never voluntarily gives it up.

180. And that is where the strong resistance comes.

181. We've got to keep on keeping on in order to gain freedom.

182. It is not done voluntarily,

183. but it is done through the pressure

184. that comes about from people who are oppressed.

185. Privileged classes never give up their privileges

186. without strong resistance.

187. They wanna throw white children and colored children

188. into the melting pot of integration

189. from out of which will come a conglomerated,

190. mulatto, mongrel class of people.

191. Both races will be destroyed in such a movement.

192. I, for one, under God, will die before I yield one inch

193. to that kind of a movement.

194. I want young men and young women

195. who are not alive today but who will come into this world

196. with new privileges and new opportunities—

197. I want them to know and see that these new privileges and opportunities

198. did not come without somebody suffering and sacrificing for them.

199. The executive board of the Montgomery Improvement Association...

200. recommends that the 11-month-old protest

201. against the city buses

202. will be called off,

203. and that the Negro citizens of Montgomery, Alabama,

204. will return to the buses on a nonsegregated basis.

205. It is further recommended

206. that this return to the buses

207. will not take place

208. until the mandate from the United States Supreme Court

209. is turned over to the federal district court.

210. We have the assurance from authentic sources

211. that this mandate will come from Montgomery in a matter of just a few days.

212. For those three or four days,

213. we will continue to walk and share rides.

214. I hereby defy ruling handed down by the United States Supreme Court

215. ordering desegregation of public carriers.

216. Alabama state law requiring segregation of races on buses still stands.

217. As long as I am president

218. of the Alabama Public Service Commission,

219. I'm going to see that our segregation laws are upheld.

220. I have this day issued orders to the chief of police and the police department

221. to continue to make arrests in all violations

222. with reference to the segregation laws.

223. And as long as I am police commissioner of the city of Montgomery,

224. I intend to follow this course.

225. This morning the long-awaited mandate

226. from the United States Supreme Court concerning bus segregation

227. came to Montgomery.

228. This mandate expresses, in terms that are crystal clear,

229. that segregation in public transportation

230. is both legally and sociologically invalid.

231. In the light of this mandate

232. and the unanimous vote

233. rendered by the Montgomery Improvement Association about a month ago,

234. the year-old protest against city buses is officially called off,

235. and the Negro citizens of Montgomery

236. are urged to return to the buses tomorrow morning

237. on a nonsegregated basis.

238. So don't go out thinking that all of the forces in the leadership of the South

239. will eventually work out this thing for Negroes.

240. "It's gonna work out. It's gonna roll in on the wheels of inevitability."

241. If we wait for it to work itself out,

242. it will never be worked out.

243. Freedom only comes through persistent revolt,

244. through persistent agitation,

245. through persistently rising up against the system of evil.

246. Buses are integrated in Montgomery,

247. but that is just the beginning.

248. Don't sit down and do nothing,

249. because if you stop now,

250. we will be in the dungeons of segregation and discrimination

251. for another hundred years,

252. and our children and our children's children

253. will suffer all of the bondage that we have lived under for years.

254. Thus out of small beginnings,

255. greater things have been produced by his hand that made all things of nothing

256. and gives being to all things of nothing

257. and gives being to all these that are.

258. And as one small candle may light a thousand,

259. so the light here kindled have shown under many,

260. yea, in some sort to our whole nation.

261. It will be a long time before we forget the freedom rides.

262. We just decided to take a ride for freedom.

263. And as a result of this, we were able to end segregation

264. in interstate travel.

265. What these people have done is not just traveling through Alabama

266. in interstate commerce or interstate travel.

267. They are buying tickets from town to town

268. and getting off in each town

269. and seeking, through mixed groups,

270. Negro men and white women,

271. to force themselves into situations

272. which tend to inflame the local people and incense them

273. by going into waiting rooms,

274. restaurants, cafés, lunch counters,

275. which are traditionally and, in many cases, required by city ordinance

276. to be segregated.

277. Now, the best thing for King to do is to get out of Alabama

278. as quickly as he can,

279. because he's a menace to the peace of this city.

280. We will not specify the exact time

281. that the ride will resume,

282. but it will continue.

283. Back it up! Back the fuck up!

284. It is a sin and a shame before God-Amen.

285. on a day like this

286. that these people who govern us

287. would let things come to such a sad state.

288. But God is not dead.

289. The most guilty man in this state tonight is Governor John Patterson.

290. In this situation, I want to make this announcement

291. that the city is now under martial law.

292. Now, we've had an ugly mob outside.

293. They have injured some of the federal marshals.

294. They've burned some automobiles.

295. But we— we are not—

296. we are not giving in for what we are standing for.

297. And maybe it takes something like this

298. for the federal government to see

299. that Alabama is not going to place any limit upon itself.

300. It must be imposed from without.

301. I looked and I saw that man they called the law.

302. He was coming down the street at me.

303. I had visions in my head of being laid out cold and dead,

304. or else murdered by the third degree.

305. I said, "Lord, if you can,

306. save me from that man.

307. Don't let him make a pulp out of me."

308. But the Lord, he was not quick.

309. The law raised up his stick

310. and beat the living hell out of me.

311. Now, I do not understand

312. why God don't protect a man from police brutality.

313. Being poor and black,

314. I have no weapon to strike back.

315. So who but the Lord can protect me?

316. We'll see.

317. You know, when I say, "Don't be afraid," you know what I really mean:

318. "Don't even be afraid to die."

319. Lord! [man 2] Oh, yeah!

320. And I submit to you tonight...

321. no man is free if he fears death.

322. Oh, yeah!

323. But the minute you conquer the fear of death,

324. at that moment, you are free.

325. You must say, somehow,

326. "I don't have much money.

327. I don't have much education.

328. I may not be able to read and write,

329. but I have the capacity to die."

330. It is an unhappy truth

331. that racism is a way of life

332. for the vast majority of white Americans.

333. And I can see nothing more urgent

334. than for America to work passionately and unrelentingly

335. to get rid of the disease of racism.

336. If I would seek to give you a blueprint

337. for our freedom in Birmingham tonight,

338. I would say first that at this moment,

339. we must decide that we will no longer spend our money

340. in businesses that discriminate against Negroes.

341. We don't wanna have to get none of y'all. Y'all been pretty good so far.

342. Y'all get back, every one of y'all.

343. Just stand by your wagon now.

344. Just stand there until they get through.

345. Got nothing over there he can do.

346. Get the wagon. That's what I want. Get it now.

347. Got a chance over there. Give him a chance.

348. I want 'em all to have the same chance.

349. You get back up against the wall.

350. Right back up against the wall.

351. Stand right there with the wall. That's right.You come with us.

352. You turn him loose. They're gonna take care of you.

353. Either way you like.

354. Move back here.

355. Somebody had something to ask me, and was gonna answer it now,

356. but I couldn't do it then.

357. Hey! Hey! Hey!

358. Hey!

359. Bring that blind nigger over here. Let's go.

360. Let's move back here.

361. I'm a man.

362. I was tryin' to be nice to you. You come down here and get in trouble.

363. I'm tryin' to be nice to you.

364. I will not rest

365. until we are able to make this kind of witness in this city

366. so that the power structure downtown

367. will have to say, "We can't stop this movement,

368. and the only way to deal with it

369. is to give these people what we owe them

370. and what their God-given rights

371. and their constitutional rights demand."

372. Okay, we'll all live together!

373. Right here.

374. Move that line there.

375. My dear fellow clergyman,

376. while confined here in the Birmingham City Jail,

377. I came across your recent statement

378. calling my present activities unwise and untimely.

379. Since I feel that you are men of genuine goodwill

380. and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth,

381. I want to try to answer your statement

382. in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.

383. You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham,

384. but your statement, I'm sorry to say,

385. fails to express a similar concern

386. for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations.

387. Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city

388. in the United States.

389. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known.

390. There have been more unsolved bombings

391. of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham

392. than in any other city in the nation.

393. These are the hard, brutal facts of the case.

394. You may well ask,

395. "Why direct action?

396. Why sit-ins, marches and so forth?

397. Isn't negotiation a better path?"

398. Nonviolent, direct action

399. seeks to create such a crisis

400. and foster such a tension

401. that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate

402. is forced to confront the issue.

403. You speak of our activity in Birmingham as extreme.

404. Was not Jesus an extremist for love?

405. "Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you.

406. Do good to them that hate you

407. and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you."

408. Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice

409. or for the extension of justice?

410. When you have seen vicious mobs

411. lynch your mothers and fathers at will

412. and drown your sisters and brothers at whim...

413. When you have seen hate-filled policemen

414. curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters...

415. When you see the vast majority of your 20 million Negro brothers

416. smothering in an airtight cage of poverty

417. in the midst of an affluent society...

418. When you suddenly find your tongue twisted

419. and your speech stammering,

420. as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter

421. why she can't go to the public amusement park

422. and see her developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people...

423. When you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son

424. who is asking, "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"

425. When you are humiliated day in and day out

426. by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"...

427. When your first name becomes "Nigger,"

428. your middle name becomes "boy," however old you are,

429. and your last name becomes "John,"

430. and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs."

431. When you are harried by day and haunted by night

432. by the fact that you are a Negro,

433. living constantly at tiptoe stance,

434. never quite knowing what to expect next

435. and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments...

436. When you are forever fighting

437. a degrading and degenerating sense of nobodiness,

438. then you will understand

439. why we find it difficult to wait.

440. You assert that our actions, even though peaceful,

441. must be condemned

442. because they precipitate violence.

443. Isn't this like condemning Jesus

444. because his unique God-consciousness

445. and never-ceasing devotion to God's will

446. precipitated the evil act of crucifixion?

447. I have no despair about the future.

448. I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham,

449. even if our motives are at present misunderstood.

450. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation,

451. because the goal of America is freedom.

452. We will win our freedom,

453. because the sacred heritage of our nation

454. and the eternal will of the Almighty God

455. are embodied in our echoing demands.

456. We have asked for four things,

457. and we are still holding out for all four:

458. the desegregation of all facilities

459. in the stores.

460. This includes restroom facilities,

461. the lunch counters and fitting rooms.

462. Number two:

463. upgrading in employment

464. in the stores

465. so that you have Negro clerks and Negro salesmen and women.

466. Number three:

467. the dropping of all of the charges

468. against the persons who have been unjustly arrested

469. for engaging in these peaceful nonviolent demonstrations

470. on the basis of the first and 14th Amendments of the Constitution.

471. Number five: Four.

472. I mean, number four:

473. the appointment of a biracial committee

474. to deal with the other problems of segregation that still exist

475. and the setting of a timetable

476. to solve the problems

477. such as school desegregation,

478. the reopening of the parks on an integrated basis

479. in compliance with the federal court order,

480. and a fair hiring policy in municipal agencies.

481. And this would also include Negro policemen.

482. You can never whip these birds

483. if you don't keep you and them separate.

484. You've got to keep the white and the black separate.

485. Let the law enforcement agencies—

486. that's what you've got them hired for—

487. and the governor of the state of Alabama handle this thing.

488. Now, George asked me to ask you to do that. Do him one favor.

489. Tell your friends when you leave here between now and Tuesday.

490. Don't go up there. Leave it alone.

491. They gonna handle this situation.

492. Just leave it alone.

493. You know, those Kennedys up there in Washington,

494. that little old Bobby socks and his brother, the president,

495. they'd give anything in the world

496. if we had some trouble here.

497. If we don't have any trouble, we can beat 'em at their own game.

498. Freedom! Freedom!

499. Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!

500. Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!

501. Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!

502. Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!

503. Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!

504. Oh! Freedom! Freedom!

505. Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!

506. All right!

507. Okay, hold it down, please.

508. All of you hear me?

509. You are in violation of section 1159 of the city code:

510. demonstrating and parading without a permit.

511. Also violating the traffic judge injunction against paradin'.

512. The activities which have taken place in Birmingham

513. over the last few days,

514. to my mind,

515. mark the nonviolent movement coming of age.

516. This is the first time

517. in the history of our struggle

518. that we have been able, literally, to fill the jails.

519. And in a real sense, this is a fulfillment of a dream,

520. for I've always felt

521. that if we could fill the jails in our witness for freedom,

522. it would be a magnificent expression of the determination of the Negro

523. and a marvelous way to lay the whole issue

524. before the conscience of the local and national community.

525. And I think in a real sense,

526. this Birmingham movement is one of the most inspiring developments

527. in the whole nonviolent struggle.

528. Take 'em over to the jail for you. Don't worry.

529. I know. He wasn't out here yesterday.

530. Clear on back now!

531. I see freedom in the air!

532. We must say to our white brothers all over the South

533. who will try to keep us down,

534. "We will match your capacity to inflict suffering

535. with our capacity to endure suffering.

536. We will meet your physical force with soul force.

537. We will not hate you,

538. and yet we cannot in our good conscience obey your evil laws.

539. Do to us what you will.

540. Threaten our children, and we will still love you.

541. Come into our homes at the midnight hours of life

542. and take us out on some desolate highway and beat us and leave us there,

543. and we will still love you.

544. Run all around the continent and send your literature

545. and say that we aren't worthy of integration,

546. that we are too immoral, that we are too low, that we are too degraded,

547. and yet we will still love you.

548. Bomb our homes

549. and go by our churches early in the morning and bomb them, if you please,

550. and we will still love you.

551. But we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer.

552. In winning the victory,

553. we will not only win our freedom,

554. we will so appeal to your heart and your conscience

555. that we will win you in the process."

556. We are very near a settlement,

557. and that includes all of the points.

558. We hope that in 24 hours, I think we can say definitely.

559. The agreement calls for the desegregation of lunch counters,

560. restrooms, fitting rooms,

561. and drinking fountains in planned stages

562. within the next 90 days.

563. Nothing has so stirred the conscience of this nation

564. as this Birmingham movement.

565. All right!

566. I can think of nothing—

567. And I say that as one who has been in several struggles for freedom

568. over the last few years.

569. But I have never seen people as aroused

570. over any development that we've had.

571. And this is a great victory for justice in Birmingham.

572. We're moving on to freedom land.

573. "Ye have heard that it hath been said...

574. 'Thou shall love thy neighbor

575. and hate thine enemy.'

576. But I say unto you, love your enemies.

577. Bless them that curse you.

578. Pray for them...

579. that despitefully use you

580. and persecute you.

581. That ye may be...

582. the children of your Father...

583. which is in heaven."

584. And probably no admonition of Jesus

585. has been more difficult to follow

586. than the command

587. to love your enemies.

588. Four little girls who went to Sunday school that day

589. and never came back home at all,

590. but left instead their blood upon the wall

591. with spattered flesh

592. and bloodied Sunday dress torn to shreds by dynamite

593. that China made eons ago.

594. Four tiny girls who left their blood upon that wall

595. in little graves today await the dynamite

596. that might ignite the fuse of centuries,

597. whose tomorrow sings a hymn the missionaries never taught

598. in Christian Sunday school

599. to implement the golden rule.

600. Four little girls might be awakened someday soon

601. by songs upon the breeze,

602. as yet unfelt among magnolia trees.

603. When it is finally ours,

604. this freedom,

605. this liberty,

606. this beautiful and terrible thing,

607. needful to man as air,

608. usable as the earth.

609. When it belong at last to our children...

610. when it is truly instinct,

611. brain matter,

612. reflex action.

613. When it is finally won,

614. when it is more than the gaudy mumbo jumbo of politicians...

615. this man,

616. this Negro,

617. visioning a world where none is lonely,

618. none hunted,

619. alien.

620. This man,

621. superb in love and logic,

622. shall be remembered,

623. oh, not with statues' rhetoric,

624. not with legends and poems and wreaths of bronze alone...

625. but with the lives grown out of his life,

626. lives fleshing the dream

627. of this needful, beautiful thing.

628. Buttons here! Get 'em while they last!

629. I got buttons here! Buttons here! Get 'em while they last!

630. We're not afraid.

631. We shall overcome.

632. We demand that segregation be ended

633. in every school district in the year 1963.

634. We demand

635. that we have effective civil rights legislation,

636. no compromise,

637. no filibuster,

638. and that it include public accommodations,

639. decent housing, integrated education,

640. FEPC, and the right to vote.

641. What do you say?

642. We demand the withholding of federal funds

643. from all programs in which discrimination exists.

644. What do you say?

645. At this time, I have the honor to present to you

646. the moral leader of our nation.

647. A great, dedicated man.

648. A philosopher of a nonviolent system of behavior

649. in seeking to bring about social change

650. for the advancement of justice and freedom

651. and human dignity.

652. I have the pleasure to present to you

653. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

654. I am happy to join with you today...

655. in what will go down in history...

656. as the greatest demonstration for freedom

657. in the history of our nation.

658. Five score years ago...

659. a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today...

660. signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

661. This momentous decree came

662. as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves

663. who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.

664. It came as a joyous daybreak...

665. to end the long night of their captivity.

666. But 100 years later...

667. the Negro still is not free.

668. My Lord! Yeah!

669. One hundred years later...

670. the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled

671. by the manacles of segregation

672. and the chains of discrimination.

673. One hundred years later,

674. the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty

675. in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.

676. One hundred years later-

677. the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society

678. and finds himself in exile in his own land.

679. We have also come to this hallowed spot...

680. to remind America of the fierce urgency of now.

681. Now is the time

682. to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation

683. to the sunlit path of racial justice.

684. Now is the time...

685. to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice

686. to the solid rock of brotherhood.

687. Now is the time...

688. to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

689. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America

690. until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights.

691. We must forever conduct our struggle

692. on the high plane of dignity and discipline.

693. We must not allow our creative protest

694. to degenerate into physical violence.

695. Again and again,

696. we must rise to the majestic heights

697. of meeting physical force with soul force.

698. The marvelous new militancy

699. which has engulfed the Negro community

700. must not lead us to a distrust of all white people,

701. for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today,

702. have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny.

703. So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow...

704. I still have a dream.

705. Yes!

706. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

707. I have a dream

708. that one day

709. this nation will rise up

710. and live out the true meaning of its creed:

711. "We hold these truths to be self-evident

712. that all men are created equal. Yeah!

713. I have a dream...

714. that one day on the red hills of Georgia,

715. the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners

716. will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

717. I have a dream that one day...

718. even the state of Mississippi,

719. a state sweltering with the heat of injustice,

720. sweltering with the heat of oppression,

721. will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

722. I have a dream...

723. that my four little children...

724. will one day live in a nation

725. where they will not be judged by the color of their skin

726. but by the content of their character.

727. I have a dream today.

728. I have a dream that one day,

729. down in Alabama,

730. with its vicious racists,

731. with its governor having his lips dripping

732. with the words of interposition and nullification,

733. one day right there in Alabama,

734. little black boys and black girls

735. will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls

736. as sisters and brothers.

737. I have a dream today.

738. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted

739. and every hill and mountain shall be made low,

740. the rough places will be made plain,

741. and the crooked places will be made straight,

742. and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed

743. and all flesh shall see it together.

744. This is our hope.

745. This is the faith that I go back to the South with.

746. With this faith,

747. we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.

748. With this faith,

749. we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation

750. into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

751. With this faith,

752. we will be able to work together, to pray together,

753. to struggle together, to go to jail together,

754. to stand up for freedom together,

755. knowing that we will be free one day.

756. I say to you today, my friends, let freedom ring

757. from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

758. Let freedom ring

759. from the mighty mountains of New York.

760. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

761. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

762. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

763. But not only that,

764. let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

765. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

766. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi,

767. from every mountainside.

768. Let freedom ring, and when this happens—

769. When we allow freedom ring,

770. when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet,

771. from every state and every city,

772. we will be able to speed up that day

773. when all of God's children— black men and white men,

774. Jews and Gentiles,

775. Protestants and Catholics—

776. will be able to join hands

777. and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

778. "Free at last! Free at last!

779. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

780. I call upon you.

781. I have the great honor.

782. To hand over to you

783. the insignia of the Nobel Peace Prize,

784. the diploma, and a gold medal.

785. Thank you very much.

786. We're saying, "We want what you said belongs to us.

787. You have a Constitution.

788. I'm a black man,

789. and you make me sit down in a black school

790. and take a test on the United States Constitution,

791. a Constitution that hasn't worked for anyone but you,

792. and you expect me to learn it from front to back.

793. So I learned it.

794. You made me stand up as a kid and sing 'God bless America'

795. and 'America the Beautiful'

796. and all those other songs the white kids were singing.

797. I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag..."

798. It's amazing how we go to church every Sunday

799. and cry over the crucifixion of Christ.

800. But we don't cry over the things that are going on around and among us.

801. If he were here now and saw these things,

802. he would cry,

803. and he would take those nails again.

804. It so happened in his day and time

805. the big problem was religion.

806. Today...

807. it is the survival of us all.

808. What do you think would happen to Christ tonight

809. if he arrived here in Selma, Alabama,

810. a black man, and wanted to register to vote on Monday?

811. Move back. Come on. Move back.

812. I'm gonna give you one minute to get off these steps.

813. You're blocking the steps.

814. You still got it blocked where I can't see.

815. Now, get off the steps.

816. You have 30 seconds to get off the steps.

817. You have ten seconds to get off the steps or we're gonna remove you.

818. Time's up. Now, move. Move. Move. Move.

819. Get off the sidewalk. Get off the sidewalk.

820. Clear the sidewalk.

821. Move back. Clear the sidewalk.

822. You're under arrest.

823. Get back or you're gonna be under arrest.

824. Move. Move. Move.

825. Get off the sidewalk.

826. Move.

827. As you know, we are assembled here today to...

828. reaffirm our determination...

829. to gain the right to vote

830. in Selma and Dallas County and all over the state of Alabama.

831. We're getting ready to move to the courthouse.

832. And we're all going together today.

833. We're going to walk together.

834. We're going to walk together

835. because we are not parading.

836. We will obey every traffic law.

837. Every traffic signal we will stop for.

838. We will not stand in the way of egress and ingress.

839. We will not do anything to block the orderly process

840. of movement in the community.

841. But we feel that we need to join together

842. and move on to the courthouse.

843. Go right on down the line, tellin' them they all under arrest.

844. O God, our Father, we thank thee for this marvelous witness,

845. and we do pray that thou will give us strength

846. to do that which is right and that which is pleasing in thy sight.

847. Each and everyone in this line

848. is under arrest for parading without a permit.

849. You are breaking the injunction

850. by not allowing these people to come inside this courthouse and wait.

851. That's up to the court, sir. This courthouse does not belong to Sheriff Clark.

852. This courthouse belongs to the people of Dallas County,

853. and these are the people of Dallas County,

854. and they have come to register.

855. And you know this within your own heart, Sheriff Clark.

856. You are not as evil a man as you act. You know in your heart what is right.

857. You just refuse to do it because you want these people behind you.

858. And as sheriff of this county, if you're deeply concerned,

859. you will go call the registrar rather than keep people from standing inside.

860. What you're really trying to do is intimidate these people,

861. and by making them stand in the rain, keep them from registering to vote.

862. And this is a kind of violation of the Constitution,

863. a violation of the court order,

864. the violation of decent citizenship.

865. You can turn your back on me, but you cannot turn your back upon the idea of justice.

866. You can turn your back now, and you can keep the club in your hand,

867. but you cannot beat down justice.

868. And we will register to vote, because as citizens of these United States,

869. we have the right to do it.

870. I'm looking down the line,

871. seeing all the people who've been in jail for felonies.

872. Precisely right, and if they're not fit to vote,

873. you'll be able to find that out.

874. But you'll not know it until they're on the registrar,

875. and many of those have the felony action

876. because Sheriff Clark made them a felony action,

877. not because they were rightfully issued.

878. If you want to arrest us, arrest us, but you don't have to beat us.

879. No, you don't have to beat us.

880. [man 2] Get out of here.You don't have to beat us. Arrest us.

881. Get up now. Get up. Arrest us if we're wrong. Don't beat us.

882. Get out. If we're wrong, arrest us,

883. but don't beat us.

884. Stand up. [man 3] Get up, get up.

885. Now clear outta here. If we're wrong, arrest us.

886. If we're wrong, arrest us. Arrest us if we're wrong.

887. Move! Don't push us away. Arrest us if we're wrong.

888. Hey, keep moving. Go on.

889. People have the privilege to vote. Go on.

890. You beat me in the side and then hide your blows.

891. Well, go on.No, I don't need to leave.

892. We have come to register to vote.

893. You beat us but refuse to register us.

894. What kind of people are you?Get back across the street.

895. If we're wrong, we're wrong, but don't beat us.

896. Walk on. Get outta here.

897. [man 4] Look, he's laughing.

898. Stay out in front of the camera. Go on.

899. It's not a matter of being in front of the camera.

900. It's a matter of facing your sheriff and facing your judge.

901. We have the right to be in this courtroom.

902. Come on. Let's go. We have a right to be in this courtroom.

903. Courtroom belongs to all us citizens of this county.

904. We have a right to be here.

905. This march intends to keep off the highway.

906. We will be marching on the shoulder of the road

907. and will not in any way be interfering with the pursuit of traffic.

908. And we urge you to be careful to make sure that you don't get on the highway in any way.

909. It'll be detrimental to your safety to continue this march,

910. and I'm saying that this is an unlawful assembly.

911. You have to disperse. You are ordered to disperse.

912. Go home or go to your church.

913. This march will not continue.

914. Troopers here, advance toward the group.

915. See that they disperse.

916. You call yourselves men.

917. You're not men. This is typical of Southern justice.

918. You're nothing but a bunch of bullies.

919. Where's a patrolman? Where's a patrolman?

920. Can we have somebody take her down to a doctor?

921. We have the right to walk the highway.

922. We have the right to walk to Montgomery if our feet can get us there.

923. We must let the nation know, and we must let the world know

924. that it is necessary to protest this threefold evil:

925. the problem of the denial of the right to vote to police brutality,

926. that we continue to face and faced in its most vicious form last Sunday.

927. And then the attempt to block First Amendment privileges.

928. Words of prayer from Dr. Ralph Abernathy.

929. Let us bow in prayer...

930. and pray that black and white people

931. will live together right here in Alabama

932. and in the Black Belt of brothers. Yes, sir.

933. And the lions will lie down with the lambs,

934. the calf and the tiger together.

935. Until that day comes, keep us restless and dissatisfied.

936. Yes, sir!

937. Keep us working and walking

938. and fighting for freedom.

939. This prayer we ask in Jesus' name

940. and for his sake.

941. Amen.

942. You know, things happened here today,

943. and I want to reiterate what...

944. Reverend Reese has just said concerning the...

945. three Unitarian ministers

946. who were beaten about an hour or so ago.

947. I understand one was, uh, so brutally beaten

948. that he had to be rushed to the hospital in Birmingham...

949. with a possible brain concussion.

950. I wish for a moment that we would bow in a word of silent prayer...

951. for these brothers who came here to be with us today

952. and who marched with us across the Alabama River.

953. Who marched to witness for our freedom

954. and to witness

955. for their own personal dedication to the cause of justice.

956. We pause in prayer and ask for God's guidance

957. and ask that he will cast his long arm of protection

958. around these, our brothers.

959. I'm calling into federal service

960. selected units of the Alabama National Guard.

961. And also will have available

962. police units from the regular army

963. to help meet state responsibilities.

964. These forces should be adequate

965. to assure the rights of American citizens

966. pursuant to a federal court order

967. to walk peaceably and safely,

968. without injury or loss of life,

969. from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

970. Walk that road. - [man 2] All right, come on. Put it down.

971. - It's a rebel flag. - You wanna see, niggers?

972. Sheriff Clark,

973. are you heaving a sigh of relief today

974. that all of this is moving out of your county?

975. I hope it's over, but I doubt it.

976. I think when Martin Luther King has used us as much as he wants to, then he'll move out.

977. What about the people who are left behind?

978. Are they gonna settle down again?

979. I'm sure that the local people will.

980. Do you think it's all been due to outsiders?

981. I think it's definitely been due to outsiders.

982. I noticed yesterday in the, uh, in the march,

983. a group of my friends and I stood there,

984. and we were able to count five local nig— uh, Negroes in the whole, uh, march.

985. Do you think there are many communists in this procession?

986. I think it's possibly made up of three—

987. one-fourth communist and one-half pro-communist.

988. I'm from Kansas City, Missouri,

989. and I've answered a call for the interracial council there in Kansas City

990. to join the march here.

991. These ideals that have been expressed here by all the people

992. have been mine for a long time.

993. I've got an opportunity to do something about it now.

994. How do you feel about the protection being given you on this march?

995. I think this is a real demonstration

996. of the commitment of the federal government

997. uh, to protect the constitutional rights of Negro citizens.

998. Uh, the protection has been very thorough, as you can see,

999. and, uh, the men are working

1000. uh, under the guidance and, certainly,

1001. uh, under the power and influence of the federal government

1002. to see that things are carried out

1003. uh, in an orderly manner.

1004. So I think that everybody has to recognize

1005. that this symbolizes, uh, a new commitment

1006. and a new determination on the part of the federal government

1007. to take the kind of vigorous line

1008. that will assure the rights of the Negro citizens of this nation.

1009. Dr. King, how are things shaping up now for tomorrow?

1010. Things are shaping up beautifully.

1011. We have people coming in from all over the country.

1012. I suspect that we will have

1013. representatives from almost every state in the union,

1014. and, naturally, a large number of people from the state of Alabama.

1015. And we hope to see and we plan to see

1016. the greatest witness for freedom ever taken place—

1017. that has ever taken place on the steps of a capital of any state in the South,

1018. and this whole march adds drama to this total thrust.

1019. I just want to say to you how much we are indebted...

1020. to my dear and abiding friend, Harry Belafonte—

1021. and to all of the other distinguished...

1022. and famous artists and entertainers

1023. who have taken time out of their very busy schedules

1024. to be with us here in Montgomery, Alabama,

1025. as we march on the state capital tomorrow morning.

1026. I know that our thanks

1027. will go out to them and will abide with them for years and years to come.

1028. It's gonna be the first all-colored western.

1029. Both sides gonna be colored. We're taking no chances.

1030. Yes, sir, our show is cowboys and West Indians.

1031. Western Union? Yes.

1032. This is Governor Wallace. Just a moment.

1033. Governor Wallace?

1034. That's right.

1035. Can you spell "Governor"?

1036. No.

1037. Yes. And to whom is the telegram going?

1038. It's going to the president of the United States,

1039. Lyndon B. Johnson.

1040. Lyndon B. Johnson? That's right.

1041. Is that Miss or Missus?

1042. Mr. Lyndon B. Johnson.

1043. Mr. LyndonB. Johnson.

1044. That's right.I have that.

1045. Here's the message. Yes?

1046. Mr. President, Mr. President,

1047. I will do anything I can to keep law and order,

1048. I will do anything I can to keep law and order,

1049. but I simply cannot afford to call the National Guard.

1050. Cannot afford to call the National Guard.

1051. Why not? It only costs a dime, you know.

1052. Well, you know, I'm not made of money.

1053. Yes, sir. I didn't mean to get personal.

1054. It costs a lot of money to keep all those people in jail.

1055. Costs a lot of money to keep all those people in jail.

1056. Not to mention the upkeep on the billy clubs...

1057. Billy clubs,

1058. and the cattle prodders...

1059. cattle prodders,

1060. and the bullwhip.

1061. bullwhip.

1062. Bullwhipped is right.

1063. Is that two words or one for "bullwhip"?

1064. That's one.

1065. One word. Yes?

1066. And the police themselves cost a lot of money—Police cost money.

1067. even though some of them take very little and just do it for the sheer love of the work.

1068. Sheer love of the work.

1069. Last Sunday, more than 8,000 of us

1070. started on a mighty walk from Selma, Alabama.

1071. They told us we wouldn't get here.

1072. There were those who said that we would get here

1073. only over their dead bodies.

1074. Well— Talk, talk. Yes, sir.

1075. But all the world today knows that we are here,

1076. and we are standing before the forces of power in the state of Alabama

1077. saying, "We ain't gonna let nobody turn us around."

1078. - Yes, sir!

1079. Today I want to tell the city of Selma—

1080. Tell them, Doctor.

1081. today I want to say to the state of Alabama—

1082. Yes, sir.

1083. today I want to say to the people of America

1084. and the nations of the world

1085. that we are not about to turn around.

1086. Yes, sir.

1087. We on the move now.

1088. Yes, sir.

1089. Yes, we on the move,

1090. and no wave of racism can stop us.

1091. Yes, sir.

1092. The burning of our churches

1093. - will not deter us. - Yes, sir!

1094. The bombing of our homes will not dissuade us.

1095. - Yes, sir! - The beating and killing of our clergymen and young people

1096. will not divert us.

1097. Tell it, tell it.

1098. The wanton release of their known murderers

1099. will not discourage us.

1100. We on the move now.

1101. Yes, sir!

1102. Like an idea whose time has come.

1103. Yes, sir! Yes, sir!

1104. Not even the marching of mighty armies can hold us.

1105. Yes, sir. We are moving to the land of freedom.

1106. Yes, sir.

1107. I know you're asking today, "How long will it take?"

1108. Preach, sir.

1109. Somebody's asking,

1110. "How long will prejudice blind the visions of men?"

1111. I come to say to you this afternoon,

1112. however difficult the moment—Yes, sir.

1113. however frustrating the hour,

1114. it will not be long.

1115. No, sir. Because "truth crushed to earth will rise again."

1116. Yes, sir.

1117. How long? Not long. Yes, sir.

1118. Because "no lie can live forever."Yes, sir.

1119. How long? Not long.

1120. How long? Preach, sir.

1121. Because you shall reap what you sow.

1122. Yes, sir. Preach, sir.

1123. How long? Not long.

1124. How long?

1125. "Truth forever on the scaffold,

1126. wrong forever on the throne,

1127. Yet that scaffold sways the future,

1128. and behind the dim unknown

1129. standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own."

1130. How long? Not long.

1131. Preach, sir. Because the arc of the moral universe is long,

1132. but it bends toward justice.

1133. How long? Not long! Not long.

1134. 'Cause "mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

1135. Yes, sir. He's trampling out the vintage

1136. where the grapes of wrath are stored."

1137. Yes, sir. Yeah!

1138. "He has loosed the fateful lightning

1139. of his terrible swift sword.

1140. His truth is marchin' on."Yes, sir.

1141. "He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat."

1142. Speak, sir."He is sifting out the hearts of men

1143. before his judgment seat."Yes.

1144. "O, be swift, my soul, to answer him.

1145. Be jubilant, my feet.

1146. Our God is marching on.

1147. Glory, hallelujah.

1148. Glory, hallelujah.

1149. Glory, hallelujah.

1150. Glory, hallelujah.

1151. His truth is marching on."

1152. Today is a triumph for freedom

1153. as huge as any victory

1154. that's ever been won on any battlefield.

1155. This law covers many pages.

1156. But the heart of the act is plain.

1157. Wherever, by clear and objective standards,

1158. states and counties are using regulations, or laws, or tests

1159. to deny the right to vote,

1160. then they will be struck down.

1161. If it is clear that state officials still intend to discriminate,

1162. then federal examiners will be sent in

1163. to register all eligible voters.

1164. This good Congress, the 89th Congress,

1165. acted swiftly in passing this act.

1166. I intend to act with equal dispatch

1167. in enforcing this act.

1168. I think the greatest victory of this period

1169. was not in terms of an external factor

1170. or an external development, but it was something internal.

1171. The real victory was

1172. what this period did to the psyche of the black man.

1173. The greatness of this period

1174. was that we armed ourselves with dignity and self-respect.

1175. The greatness of this period was

1176. that we straightened our backs up.

1177. And a man can't ride your back unless it's bent.

1178. The world has never had a good definition of the word "liberty,"

1179. and the American people just now are much in want of one.

1180. We all declare for liberty,

1181. but in using the same word, we do not mean the same thing.

1182. With some, the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself.

1183. While with others, the same word

1184. may mean for some men to do as they please with other men.

1185. Here are two not only different but incompatible things

1186. called by the same name: liberty.

1187. And it follows that each of the things

1188. is by the respective parties called by two different and incompatible names:

1189. liberty and tyranny.

1190. After touring this city

1191. in two whirlwind days of activity,

1192. I must report

1193. that Chicago is far from being the promised land.

1194. Say it.

1195. That is no Jerusalem on Lake Michigan.

1196. But I must also say

1197. that confused, confounded, and corrupt though she is,

1198. Chicago is no Sodom doomed to an imminent destruction.

1199. Preach it now.No, Chicago is more like Athens,

1200. a city of both tremendous shame and shining glory.

1201. Fix it now. And we are here to issue the call to conscience

1202. Yes. that Chicago might forsake her shame

1203. and rise to the challenge of our age

1204. and creatively pursue the paths of glory.

1205. Get out of there!

1206. Get in there in the back.

1207. Come to the front, and we'll meet.

1208. Hey, mister.

1209. Apparently the opening incident that, uh,

1210. caused the disorder was an argument between the police and the young citizenry

1211. over the open fire hydrants.

1212. They're persistently opening the hydrants.

1213. The... police had closed them, and some arrests were effected.

1214. Some rumors spread, and, uh,

1215. from then on, why, we had, uh,

1216. some sporadic attacks on property, uh, throughout the area.

1217. Will you consider this a personal embarrassment

1218. because you are considered a moderate voice?

1219. I told Mayor Daley the other day

1220. that if you do not help me win victories, and if you don't make concessions,

1221. you are opening the door for the violent forces to take over.

1222. So it won't be an embarrassment to me other than my moral concern.

1223. It would be a much greater embarrassment to this nation.

1224. "The Star-Spangled Banner."

1225. Anyone here, can you get off your knees

1226. and sing the first stanza from "The Star-Spangled Banner"?

1227. Do you wanna work for three dollars an hour?

1228. I don't care if you're working for a living or not.

1229. You wanna clean third floors like me?

1230. You wanna climb second to third to third to third?

1231. Relax, relax, relax, relax. Huh?

1232. Anybody wants a job, I got one.

1233. Hey, where's that little man? Come on!

1234. Hey, come here, little man. Lady.

1235. Please get 'em outta here.

1236. All you people that are

1237. should turn around and go back.

1238. You are violating-

1239. All right, get out of the street here.

1240. Yeah, well, their goddamn neighborhood, they made 'em slums.

1241. They wanna make this slums?

1242. We work too hard in this neighborhood to keep it clean

1243. without making it slums.

1244. Okay!

1245. Back to the jungle, you guys! Back to the jungle!

1246. Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!

1247. Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!

1248. Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!

1249. Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!

1250. Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!

1251. I think I can say,

1252. concerning this great gospel singer in our midst,

1253. our dear friend,

1254. my great friend, Mahalia Jackson,

1255. that a voice like this comes only once in a millennium.

1256. If there is any doubt in anybody's mind

1257. concerning whether we have a movement here in Chicago,

1258. you ought to be in this church tonight.

1259. We have some challenging days ahead.

1260. Amen.

1261. Some great and noble opportunities

1262. to make this beautiful city that sits on the banks of Lake Michigan

1263. the beautiful city of brotherhood

1264. that it is called to be.

1265. Amen.

1266. I say sincerely that the white persons

1267. who believe in justice,

1268. who believe in humanity,

1269. are gonna stay with this movement.

1270. Yeah. Yes, sir.

1271. As I've said before, they're gonna stay with it

1272. because it's just and right.

1273. If my Jewish brothers and sisters

1274. said to me amid anti-Semitism anywhere,

1275. "We don't need your support.

1276. We have enough Jewish power to deal with this problem ourselves."

1277. I would still take a stand against anti-Semitism

1278. because it's wrong, it's unjust, and it's evil.

1279. If my Catholic brothers and sisters said to me,

1280. amid bigotry toward Catholics,

1281. "We don't need your support in this,

1282. because we have enough Catholic power to deal with it,"

1283. I would still take a stand against bigotry toward Catholics

1284. because it is wrong, it is evil, and it is unjust.

1285. Tomorrow, let us march.

1286. Let us march in dignity, let us march in discipline.

1287. So don't despair.

1288. Don't give up.

1289. But in one great outpouring

1290. with the gentle signs and the glad thunders of the ages,

1291. all of us can begin to sing,

1292. "Glory, hallelujah.

1293. Glory, hallelujah.

1294. Glory, hallelujah, our God is marching on!"

1295. no goddamn broken windows!

1296. Back to the jungle, you guys! Back to the jungle!

1297. Let's go. Keep moving there.

1298. Keep 'em moving.

1299. Nigger, go away! Damn nigger, go home!

1300. - Let's move it. Come on. - Let's move it.

1301. Use your good sense instead of your emotions.

1302. Where's their good sense? Let 'em go in their own neighborhood.

1303. [man 2] Yeah, we're protecting our neighborhood! Get outta here!

1304. All you're gonna do is help ruin your own.

1305. That's the way you're going right now.

1306. I've seen this happen many times.

1307. Why don't you go home and act like adult people.

1308. Hey, get out of here!

1309. Go home! Go home! Go home!

1310. Get out! Come on over here!

1311. Hey, you want to be next to the white people? Come over here!

1312. Hey, back to the jungle, you guys! Back to the jungle! Go, will ya?

1313. Hey! Keep walking, guys!

1314. Hey! Nigger go home!

1315. Hey, you want to be next to the white people? Come over here!

1316. Take your children home.

1317. Why don't you tell the niggers to go home!

1318. White power! White power! White power! White power! White power!

1319. All you're doing is aggravate our problem. Off the streets.

1320. Come on!

1321. Watch it!

1322. You didn't tell me nothing!

1323. Get outta here!

1324. I live in here! Get outta here!

1325. I live here! Those fucking niggers don't live here!

1326. Tell them fucking niggers to go home!

1327. They were saying to us yesterday, "Don't march."

1328. I listened to 'em.

1329. I said to myself,

1330. "Our marching feet have done too much now to give up."

1331. If you want us to stop marching,

1332. make justice a reality.

1333. I don't mind saying to Chicago or to anybody,

1334. "I'm tired of marching.

1335. Tired of marching for something

1336. that should have been mine at birth."

1337. If you want a moratorium on demonstration,

1338. put a moratorium on injustice.

1339. If you want us to end our moves into communities,

1340. open these communities.

1341. Yeah! Yeah! I don't mind saying to you,

1342. "I'm tired of the tension surrounding our day."

1343. I don't mind saying to you, "I'm tired of living every day under the threat of death."

1344. I have no martyr complex.

1345. I want to live as long as anybody in this building,

1346. and sometimes I begin to doubt whether I'm gonna make it through.

1347. I must confess, I'm tired!

1348. Yes, I'm tired of going to jail.

1349. I'm tired of all of the surging murmur of life's lesson at sea.

1350. So I'll tell anybody, "I'm willing to stop marching.

1351. I don't march because I like it.

1352. I march because I must and because I'm man

1353. and because I'm a child of God!"

1354. Let's move it. Come on. Let's move it.

1355. You see him? [man 2] Yeah.

1356. [man 3] Yeah, threw the rock.

1357. Let's get moving.

1358. Right, let's move.

1359. They'd like if we'd move.

1360. Let's go back toward our—

1361. Did you change the road coming up?

1362. No, we got separated,

1363. and we couldn't get through the mob back there.

1364. So we'll wait—No, we have to go all the way around the park

1365. and come back in. Come up the back?

1366. Dr. King, did you get hit?I'm glad you slowed it up.

1367. What did you get hit with, sir?

1368. You get hit with rocks?I've been hit so many times,

1369. I'm immune to it.

1370. How do you feel about this reception, sir?

1371. Well, this is a terrible thing.

1372. I've been in many demonstrations all across the South,

1373. but I can say that I have never seen—

1374. even in Mississippi and Alabama—

1375. mobs as hostile and as hate-filled

1376. as I've seen here in Chicago.

1377. But the march will go on anyway? Oh, very definitely.

1378. We can't stop the march. We're going on in a few minutes.

1379. Do you feel you're in a closed society, Dr. King,

1380. here in the southwest side of Chicago? Oh, yes.

1381. It's definitely a closed society, and we're gonna make it an open society.

1382. And we feel that we have to do it this way

1383. in order to bring the evil out into the open

1384. so that this community will be forced to deal with it.

1385. Dr. King, will there be any marches this weekend?

1386. Yes, there will be. We'll be announcing that a little later.

1387. I don't know yet.

1388. Can you move back so we can get it started?

1389. You wanna move 'em out to the left?

1390. Get 'em back!

1391. We aren't gonna march with any Molotov cocktails.

1392. That isn't our movement.

1393. We aren't gonna march with any weapons. That isn't our movement.

1394. We aren't gonna march with bricks and bottles.

1395. We are gonna march with something much more powerful than all of that.

1396. We are gonna march with the force of our souls,

1397. mobilize bodies in concern for justice.

1398. Somehow we are gonna step up.

1399. We are gonna take the ammunition of determination.

1400. We are gonna move out

1401. with the weapons of courage.

1402. We're gonna put on the breastplate of righteousness

1403. and the whole armor of God, and we're gonna march!

1404. The face of war is my face.

1405. The face of war is your face.

1406. What color is the face of war?

1407. Brown? Black? White?

1408. Your face and my face.

1409. Death is the broom I take in my hands to sweep the world clean.

1410. I sweep and I sweep and mop and I mop.

1411. I dip my broom in blood, my mop in blood,

1412. and blame you for this, because you are there, enemy.

1413. It's hard to blame me because I am here.

1414. So I kill you, and you kill me.

1415. My name, like your name, is war.

1416. Let no one claim there is a consensus for this war.

1417. No flag-waving.

1418. No smug satisfaction with territorial conquest.

1419. No denunciation of the enemy can obscure the truth

1420. that millions of patriotic Americans

1421. repudiate this war

1422. and refuse to take moral responsibility for it.

1423. I speak out against this war

1424. not in anger

1425. but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart,

1426. and above all, with a passionate desire

1427. to see our beloved country

1428. stand as the moral example of the world.

1429. I speak out against this war

1430. because I am disappointed with America,

1431. and there can be no great disappointment

1432. where there is no great love.

1433. All right, check. Second platoon, throw those people back!

1434. Negroes and white boys will fight in brutal solidarity

1435. on the battlefields of Vietnam,

1436. but when they get back home, it's doubtful that their children

1437. will be able to sit together in the same classroom,

1438. because most of the schools of this country are segregated.

1439. Negro soldiers will die in Vietnam.

1440. Sometime they'll come back home

1441. to be buried in Wetumpka, Alabama,

1442. and can't even be buried there.

1443. It's time to set our own house in order.

1444. For those who say to me, "Stick to civil rights,"

1445. I have another answer.

1446. And that is that I've fought too long and too hard now...

1447. against segregated public accommodations

1448. to end up segregating my moral concern.

1449. I'm not gonna do that.

1450. Others can do what they want to do!

1451. That's their business.

1452. If other civil rights leaders, for various reasons,

1453. refuse or can't take a stand or have to go along with the administration,

1454. that's their business!

1455. But I must say tonight—

1456. that I know that justice...

1457. is indivisible.

1458. Injustice anywhere

1459. is a threat to justice everywhere.

1460. If people bring so much courage to this world,

1461. the world has to kill them to break them.

1462. So, of course, it kills them.

1463. The world breaks everyone,

1464. and afterward, many are strong at the broken places.

1465. But those it will not break, it kills.

1466. It kills the very good and the very gentle

1467. and the very brave, impartially.

1468. If you are none of these,

1469. you can be sure that it will kill you too.

1470. But there will be no special hurry.

1471. We know that you really don't need much,

1472. but we thought there are some things you ought to have.

1473. So we searched around, and knowing what's coming up for you,

1474. we thought you'd be strung out on a shoestring, so when you go to jail,

1475. here's some shoestring potatoes.

1476. And we know how fond you are

1477. of our president, Lyndon Johnson, and—

1478. and we know how you support him.

1479. I got this cup for you— and I want this back, 'cause it's mine—

1480. and it says, "We are cooperating

1481. with Lyndon Johnson's war on poverty.

1482. Drop coins and bills in the cup."

1483. Now, there's a picture of Dr. King.

1484. He's in deep thought.

1485. You've seen that picture many times.

1486. But it takes on new meaning here, and it says,

1487. "'But seriously, President Johnson,

1488. if the pill won't work, then we're going to need Dr. Spock.'"

1489. And you get a free gift certificate to the Atlanta Boys, okay?

1490. All right. And this is a special gift from me. A real one.

1491. Thank you very much.

1492. I'm just getting older, that's all.

1493. Dr. King. Franklin, how you doin'? Good to see you.

1494. Uh, are you gonna stop somewhere for a bite to eat?

1495. We're gonna eat in Marks, I believe. Somebody reminded me of it.

1496. See y'all.

1497. Let me touch you.You all just took off from school, huh?

1498. Yeah. All right.

1499. See ya later, hear? Bye.

1500. All right, bye-bye.

1501. Now there's how to shake his hand, huh? Wonderful.

1502. Get to shake it.

1503. We want y'all to come on to Washington when you get out of school.

1504. Yes, sir. We're gonna have a big time in Washington.

1505. Yes, sir. Good luck, hear?

1506. Thanks. Bye-bye.

1507. Bye. Bye.

1508. Hosea's still inside.

1509. Greg. Tell Hosea and Ralph to rush on.

1510. We-

1511. Hello. Give me some sugar. Where we stopping?

1512. Ah, that a girl. Huh? Where we stopping?

1513. Where we stopping? Is there some town between here and Marks?

1514. He said something about we had a stop, but he didn't say where. Why?

1515. How you doing? Fine. How you been?

1516. All right. Fine. Glad to see you.

1517. Yeah. How you doing? Fine. How are you?

1518. Hello. How are you?Fine. How you feelin'?

1519. Glad to see. You said somewhere about we gonna stop on the way.

1520. Okay, Rev. See ya, yeah?

1521. In Chicago, on the day that we marched through that narrow street—

1522. and we marched about 4,000 or 5,000 people that day—

1523. but they were in trees.

1524. That's correct. Change frequencies.

1525. It was the most serious—

1526. I guess we marched about five miles, didn't we?

1527. But they had at least 10,000 whites assemble on us.

1528. And there must have been about 4,000 police...

1529. trying to protect us.

1530. But every minute almost, somebody's nose got broken.

1531. And you got everywhere you turn.

1532. And we went through this narrow street with all these trees,

1533. and the policemen were going ahead,

1534. and they were finding people in these trees.

1535. They were holding up, "Come out of the trees."

1536. 'Cause they were in these trees to shoot or anything.

1537. And they were throwing so many rocks and things

1538. that I saw the policemen duck at least—

1539. One time, you remember, looked like you could see 4,000 policemen duck.

1540. They all went down. It was— That's a fact.

1541. Now, that, to me,

1542. and Philadelphia, Mississippi, were the most, uh—

1543. I just gave up.

1544. I wouldn't say I was so afraid as—

1545. that I had yielded to the real possibility

1546. of the inevitability of death.

1547. I mean, I had concluded—

1548. I concluded—

1549. That day in Philadelphia, when I was speaking—

1550. Radar identification. Turn to right-hand—

1551. and Rainey was behind me, you remember?

1552. And all those others, and I started saying,

1553. "The murderers are probably around,"

1554. and some man behind me said, "You're damn right. They're right behind you right now."

1555. That was Rainey. Rainey said it.

1556. "Yeah, I'm right behind you." Said, "Yeah"--

1557. And, brother—

1558. And I was here speaking. They all standin' behind me.

1559. And I just knew

1560. they had never seen—

1561. Well, did-did I pray, or did Ralph pray?

1562. Ralph prayed.

1563. Yeah, Ralph prayed that day.

1564. And, uh, we had to close our eyes.

1565. And I just knew then that they were gonna drop us.

1566. Ralph never did! From then on—

1567. You—

1568. You didn't know that? No, sirree.

1569. Ralph says he prayed with his open.

1570. But I closed my eyes. I really did.

1571. This is a new beginning on the economic front.

1572. We've dealt with the social crisis of legal segregation

1573. to a great degree,

1574. and we've dealt with the political problem,

1575. the right to vote, to its great extent.

1576. Now we are making a beginning on the economic. Right.

1577. We assemble here together today

1578. with common problems,

1579. uh, bringing together ethnic groups

1580. that maybe have not been together

1581. in this type of meeting in the past.

1582. I know I haven't been in a meeting like this,

1583. and it's been one of my dreams that we would come together

1584. and realize our common problems.

1585. And I do want to express my deep personal gratitude

1586. and the appreciation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

1587. to each of you.

1588. And power for poor people will really mean

1589. having the ability, the togetherness,

1590. the assertiveness and the aggressiveness

1591. to make the power structure of this nation say "yes"

1592. when they may be desirous of saying "no."

1593. And it is my hope that

1594. we will get together and be together

1595. and really stand up to gain power for poor people.

1596. Black people, Mexican-Americans, American Indians,

1597. Puerto Ricans, Appalachian whites,

1598. all working together

1599. to solve the problem of poverty.

1600. We're getting ready to deal with the economic issue.

1601. We're getting ready to demand jobs and income.

1602. We are tired of working

1603. full-time jobs for part-time income.

1604. Yeah. All right, all right.

1605. We are tired of living in run-down,

1606. dilapidated, rat-infested shacks and slums.

1607. We are tired of our children—

1608. All right.

1609. having to attend overcrowded, inferior schools.

1610. Make it plain.

1611. And we are tired

1612. of our men not being able to be men

1613. because they can't find work.

1614. One thousand three hundred sanitation workers are on strike,

1615. and Memphis is not being fair to them.

1616. The issue is the refusal of Memphis...

1617. to be fair and honest

1618. in its dealings with its public servants

1619. who happen to be sanitation workers.

1620. Now, we've gotta keep attention on that.

1621. We've got to march again...

1622. in order to put the issue

1623. where it is supposed to be.

1624. Force everybody to see that there are

1625. 1,300 of God's children here suffering,

1626. sometimes going hungry,

1627. going through dark and dreary nights,

1628. wondering how this thing is gonna come out.

1629. That's the issue.

1630. We've got to say to the nation, "We know how it's coming out."

1631. For when people get caught up with that which is right,

1632. and they are willing to sacrifice for it,

1633. there is no stopping point short of victory.

1634. We have this illegal, unconstitutional injunction.

1635. All we say to America is, "Be true to what you said on paper."

1636. If I lived in China or even Russia,

1637. maybe I could understand

1638. some of these illegal injunctions.

1639. Maybe I could understand

1640. the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges

1641. because they haven't committed themselves to that over there.

1642. But somewhere I read

1643. of the freedom of assembly.

1644. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech.

1645. Yeah! Somewhere I read

1646. of the freedom of press.

1647. Somewhere I read

1648. that the greatness of America

1649. is the right to protest for a right.

1650. And so just as I say we aren't going to let any dogs or water hoses turn us around,

1651. we aren't going to let any injunction turn us around!

1652. All right, we're ready. Let's go! Let's go!

1653. Stay with the group. Stay with the group. Together now.

1654. Get back in line.

1655. Black power!

1656. Black power! This is power!

1657. Black power!

1658. Black power! This is power!

1659. Get off the street! Get off the street!

1660. Look out! Look out!

1661. We've got some difficult days ahead.

1662. Some began to talk about

1663. the threats that were out.

1664. Yeah.

1665. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers.

1666. Well, I don't know what will happen now.

1667. But it really doesn't matter with me now,

1668. because I've been to the mountaintop.

1669. And I don't mind.

1670. Like anybody, I would like to live... a long life.

1671. Longevity has its place.

1672. But I'm not concerned about that now.

1673. I just want to do God's will.

1674. Yeah.

1675. And he's allowed me to go up to the mountain.

1676. And I've looked over,

1677. and I've seen the promised land.

1678. Yeah!

1679. I may not get there with you,

1680. but I want you to know tonight

1681. that we as a people will get to the promised land!

1682. Go ahead. Go ahead.

1683. So I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything!

1684. I'm not fearing any man!

1685. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!

1686. My name is Robert Moseley, the producer of this show.

1687. At 7:10 this evening, Martin Luther King was shot—

1688. in Tennessee.

1689. This was to be a gala occasion for a little Negro college from Mississippi

1690. appearing in Carnegie Hall with the great Duke Ellington.

1691. Martin Luther King 20 minutes ago died.

1692. Please be seated.

1693. We gather here this morning in one of the darkest hours...

1694. in the history...

1695. of the black people of this nation,

1696. and in one of the darkest hours...

1697. in the history...

1698. of all mankind.

1699. For Martin Luther King,

1700. a 20th-century prophet,

1701. who was imbued with the philosophy...

1702. of nonviolence,

1703. sent forth as a Moses in the wilderness...

1704. of this sick nation of ours...

1705. to lift his voice and cry out to the pharaohs...

1706. to let my people go,

1707. was assassinated...

1708. on last Thursday evening...

1709. in Memphis, Tennessee.

1710. We come to the church where...

1711. he was dedicated

1712. and blessed as a baby;

1713. where he was baptized as a Christian;

1714. where he was licensed...

1715. to preach the gospel;

1716. where he was ordained...

1717. to spread good tidings

1718. of joy to all people.

1719. The church where his pas— where his father...

1720. has pastored for many years,

1721. and the church which he has served...

1722. in such a marvelous way...

1723. as co-pastor...

1724. for eight years.

1725. Mrs. King has requested that...

1726. we have the tape of his last sermon...

1727. played to us now.

1728. If any of you are around when I have to meet my day,

1729. I don't want a long funeral.

1730. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy,

1731. tell them not to talk too long.

1732. Yes. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say.

1733. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize.

1734. That isn't important.

1735. Tell them not to mention that I have 300 or 400 other awards.

1736. That's not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school.

1737. I'd like somebody to mention that day

1738. that Martin Luther King, Jr.

1739. tried to give his life serving others!

1740. I'd like for somebody to say that day

1741. that Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to love somebody!

1742. Yeah. I want you to say that day

1743. that I tried to be right on the war question.

1744. Yes, yes. I want you to be able to say that day

1745. that I did try to feed the hungry.

1746. Yes! And I want you to be able to say that day

1747. that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked.

1748. Yes! I want you to say on that day

1749. that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison.

1750. Lord, yes! I want you to say

1751. that I tried to love and serve humanity.

1752. Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major,

1753. say that I was a drum major for justice.

1754. Say that I was a drum major for peace.

1755. I was a drum major for righteousness.

1756. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.

1757. I won't have any money to leave behind.

1758. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind,

1759. but I just want to leave a committed life behind.

1760. Amen! And that's all I want to say.

1761. "If I can help somebody as I pass along,

1762. If I can cheer somebody with a word or song,

1763. If I can show somebody he's traveling wrong,

1764. Then my living will not be in vain!

1765. Yes! If I can do my duty as a Christian ought,

1766. If I can bring salvation to a world once wrought,

1767. If I can spread the message as the Master taught,

1768. Then my living will not be in vain."