Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most courageous, inspiring, and determined people who fought for equal rights. His work was amazing, but other people helped him on his journey for black freedom. For example, Sojourner Truth, Nat Turner, and Harriet Tubman. These people influenced his truly moving speech the day before he was shot at 6:01 p.m. on April 4, 1968. Therefore these wonderful black men and women should have some recognition, as they helped Martin Luther King Jr.
The “Assassination Speech”, is a very important piece of history, but he was not the only mastermind behind the speech and the movement. Sojourner Truth was in fact, the first black woman to win a case against a white man. Also, she delivered her most famous speech, Ain’t I a Woman, in 1851, at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. A couple of lines from her speech, “I want to say a few words about this matter. I am a women's rights. I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that?”Martin Luther learned about her in school, and that is how he found out about her and used her ideas.
Last, but not least, Harriet Tubman. She helped many slaves cross into free lands, and she was a spy for the Union. Also, she went into women’s suffrage, the fight for women’s right to vote. She ties into Martin Luther because of her courageous decisions to fight for equal rights, and freedom for all. Martin Luther spoke powerful words, his last speech for example, but none would be possible without his knowledge of the great people before him.Martin Luther King Jr., has always held a special place in my heart because of his actions for equal rights. I believe that we do share a similarity, the fire to fight for what's right. All people have it, some just have to dig deeper than others.
His last speech, given at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee:
The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers. Now, we've got to keep attention on that. That's always the problem with a little violence. You know what happened the other day, and the press dealt only with the window-breaking. I read the articles. They very seldom got around to mentioning the fact that one thousand, three hundred sanitation workers are on strike, and that Memphis is not being fair to them... They didn't get around to that. Now we're going to march again, and we've got to march again, in order to put the issue where it is supposed to be -- and force everybody to see that there are thirteen hundred of God's children here suffering, sometimes going hungry, going through dark and dreary nights wondering how this thing is going to come out. That's the issue. And we've got to say to the nation: We know how it's coming out. For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.
Regarding the Civil Rights struggle, King said:
All we say to America is, "Be true to what you said on paper." If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand some of these illegal injunctions. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn't committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for rights. And so just as I said, we aren't going to let dogs or water hoses turn us around. We aren't going to let any injunction turn us around. We are going on.
Regarding economic boycotts, he said:
Now, we are poor people. Individually, we are poor when you compare us with white society in America. We are poor. Never stop and forget that collectively...the American Negro collectively is richer than most nations of the world. We have an annual income of more than thirty billion dollars a year, which is more than all of the exports of the United States, and more than the national budget of Canada. Did you know that? That's power right there, if we know how to pool it. We don't have to argue with anybody. We don't have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We don't need any bricks and bottles. We don't need any Molotov cocktails. We just need to go around to these stores, and to these massive industries in our country, and say, "God sent us by here, to say to you that you're not treating his children right. And we've come by here to ask you to make the first item on your agenda fair treatment, where God's children are concerned. Now, if you are not prepared to do that, we do have an agenda that we must follow. And our agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from you.[1]
Toward the end of the speech, King refers to threats against his life and uses language that seems to foreshadow his impending death:
And then I got to 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 don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't really matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. 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.
Sources: http://history1900s.about.com/cs/martinlutherking/a/mlkassass.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27ve_Been_to_the_Mountaintop
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sojourner_Truth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Turner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Tubman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nat_Turner.jpg
http://www.alcazaraudioworks.com/details/cd/sojourner.html
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&biw=1441&bih=656&tbm=isch&tbnid=vq-mcO0XFTfh_M:&imgrefurl=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/09/14/GA2010091405721.html&docid=YeolaIhtmHlVlM&imgurl=http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/gallery/100914/GAL-10Sep14-5730/media/PHO-10Sep14-251897.jpg&w=913&h=1024&ei=VL74UPzHJO_DiwKYw4DYAQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=2&vpy=242&dur=73&hovh=238&hovw=212&tx=95&ty=120&sig=105400541573080848422&page=1&tbnh=127&tbnw=130&start=0&ndsp=31&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0,i:108
