Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was in Memphis, TN, to support the Sanitation Workers Strike, which began on February 12, 1968.  The night before he was assassinated, Dr. King spoke to a crowd and gave his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech.  It's incredibly powerful to watch, and a bit haunting.  This is the text to the most famous portion of the speech:

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place, but I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will, and He's allowed me to go up to the mountain, and I've looked over and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy tonight, I'm not worried about anything, I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

The Lorraine Motel is now the National Civil Rights Museum, in Memphis, TN.  I have visited this museum before and it is a very powerful experience.  

Did you know that Dr. King went to Boston University?  He graduated with a PhD in Systematic Theology in 1955.  Boston is where King met his wife, Coretta Scott King.  She was studying violin and voice at New England Conservatory, and a friend suggested the two should meet.  They were married in 1953, and had four children.  Coretta Scott King graduated with her Bachelor's Degree in 1955.  She was a talented musician, a dedicated mother, and a dedicated Civil Rights activist.  Shortly after Dr. King's death, Coretta Scott King founded The King Center in Atlanta, GA, in 1968 to continue his mission of Nonviolent Social Change.  She remained an activist her whole life, until her death in 2006.

I highly recommend reading the Who Was?/What Is? books about Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, and The Civil Rights Movement. Additionally, you can play the songs Pride by U2, and Abraham, Martin, and John by Dion, which have lyrics that reference Dr. King's assassination.

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