Martin Luther King Jr. Was Assassinated 49 Years Ago Today


Martin Luther King Jr. was Assassinated 49 years ago today. King was an activist, famous for his contributions to civil rights advancements and for his forever iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. 
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. 

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

These words rang like bells during the peak of the fight for civil rights during the 1960's. These words have been inspiring humans since they were first spoke in August of 1963. King was fatally shot five years later. He was shot while standing on the balcony outside his second-story room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was in Memphis to support a sanitation workers’ strike and was on his way to dinner when a bullet struck him in the jaw and severed his spinal cord. 

King was assassinated by a man with a motive of hatred and fear. I won't type his name, as he is dead and doesn't deserve the recognition. King was both commended and demonized for his stance on equality and tolerance. He stood for something, stood firm enough to warrant getting himself killed by a bigot that didn't want to see change. 

Conspiracy or no conspiracy, his death was mourned by tens of thousands of people. He was and still remains an inspiration of tolerance and peace. 



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