MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. SPEECH: "I'VE BEEN TO THE MOUNTAINTOP"
“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” was The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s last sermon. He delivered the sermon on April 3rd, 1968, at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. King was in Memphis to lead a nonviolent demonstration in support of African American sanitation workers who sought economic equality. On April 4th, at 6:01 pm, King was assassinated while standing on the second floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel.
In the sermon, King challenged the United States, which was steeped in civil unrest, to live up to its ideals, saying “…let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation." King also spoke about the possibility of his death. Having received many death threats, he knew “some speech would be his last,” said Andrew Young, who was with King in Memphis. “Was he afraid?” Young continued. “Not on your life!”