On April 3, 1968, the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke passionately to striking sanitation workers at Mason Temple Church of God In Christ in Memphis, Tennessee.
The famous speech, where he echoed that he’s “been to the Mountaintop and seen the promised land,” would be the last one he would deliver. Dr. King was assassinated the next day after a bullet struck him while he was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. He was only 39 years old.
The Lorraine Motel is the current home of the National Civil Rights Museum and hanging there on the balcony where the bullet struck the civil rights icon is a wreath that is a consistent reminder of the dreamer!
Since his untimely death, all too often we are seeing black men and women disproportionately killed by law enforcement and it's being captured on video. Activists, still marching and standing or kneeling for justice and against discrimination.
We are still waiting for the dream to be completely realized, however Dr. King did not die in vain. His family and supporters are committed to carrying out his life’s work. The United States of America has seen and I personally witnessed the inauguration our first African-American president with the election of President Barack Obama.
Dr. King's speeches and messages continue to inspired a new generation of dreamers.