Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.: The Speech That Changed America
The Night One Man’s Words Stood Against Chaos
The Art of Becoming is a newsletter about discovering value in adversity and welcoming discomfort. I share my journey to fulfillment and joy, building resilience and wisdom and, hopefully, gaining a bit of wealth along the way.
On this day, we remember the life and sacrifice of Martin Luther King Jr. and the words that carried a city through the darkness.
The Speech That Changed America
Fifty-seven years ago today, the Reverend Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Cities around the country rioted. But not Indianapolis.
That night, Robert F. Kennedy stood before a crowd in Indianapolis. With no prepared remarks, he spoke from the heart, his voice cracking with sorrow, understanding, and an urgent plea for unity.
That speech is often credited with helping to prevent riots in Indianapolis that night, as other cities across the United States erupted in violence. His words remain one of the most poignant calls for unity and compassion in American history.
One person with conviction can ignite a revolution, shift a country’s opinion, or breathe hope into a people that’s lost its way. In the quiet courage of a single soul lies the spark that can set history in motion. Reverend Martin Luther King was that soul.
One person can make a difference, and everyone should try." —John F. Kennedy
We need to remember Gandhi leading the Salt March. Or when Malala was shot in the face while speaking up for women’s rights in Pakistan. Remember twelve-year-old Iqbal Masih, a former bonded laborer, who was murdered in 1995 while defending children’s rights. Or when Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years.
We remember Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and his sacrifice. We remember when he said:
“Everyone has the power for greatness…because greatness is determined by service.”
You may fall in your struggle to do what is right against unfathomable odds. You might fail, but wisdom comes from that fight, from each bloody nose, broken bone, and crushed heart. From that wisdom grows an indomitable spirit watered by the blood of failure, hardened by the struggle, and driven by purpose.
Today, we honor Martin Luther King's sacrifice. We remember what Robert F. Kennedy said the day Reverend King was murdered. We remember who they were. We honor their legacy. We remember how two men chose peace and made the ultimate sacrifice for that choice.
Read what one remarkable man said on a tragic night. And then be that one person who chooses to make a difference.
Let’s get to it.
Robert F. Kennedy’s Speech on the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
April 4, 1968 – Indianapolis, Indiana
I have bad news for you, for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and killed tonight.
Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice for his fellow human beings, and he died because of that effort.
In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black--considering the evidence there evidently is that there were white people who were responsible--you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in great polarization--black people amongst black, white people amongst white, filled with hatred toward one another.
Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love.
For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and distrust at the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I can only say that I feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man. But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to go beyond these rather difficult times.
My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He wrote:
"In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black.
So I shall ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, that's true, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love--a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.
We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times; we've had difficult times in the past; we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; it is not the end of disorder.
But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings who abide in our land.
Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.
Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.
History doesn’t move by itself. It moves because one person chooses to rise. To speak. To serve. To love. And when they do, they light a torch that the rest of us can carry into the darkness.
Dr. King did not live to see the world he dreamed of. But he walked toward it anyway, carrying the chains of injustice on his back but love in his hands, in his words. He taught us that there could be no peace without justice, that greatness was found not with the rich or famous, but in those who serve. The measure of a person is not found in moments of convenience or comfort, but in times of challenge and controversy.
Both the Reverend King and Bobby Kennedy would lose their lives, and the world trembled—but did not fall. They gave their voices, bodies, and lives to a cause greater than themselves. They died so we could be better people and live a higher purpose.
If their dream is to survive, someone must be willing to serve, to speak, and to stand up to our challenges and controversies.
But who will be that one voice? Will you be the one person who chooses to speak and make a stand?
Thank you for reading. Find wisdom in your struggle.
Love to you and yours,
Michael