Academic

In Memoriam

By Christopher Bracey

Food for thought, as we mark the 40th anniversary of the King assassination.

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(Caption:  Your tax dollars at work.  Declassified letter to Martin Luther King, Jr. from FBI’s Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO), 1964, urging him to commit suicide, sent just before he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize.) 

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(Caption: King meets with President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House, 1966.)

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(Caption:  This a photo of King, taken in Memphis the night before he was killed.  Here are the final words of King’s final speech, given that night:  “Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it 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. And 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.“)

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Full post as published by BlackProf on April 04, 2008 (boomark / email).