Admirers have gathered in Memphis to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr‘s final speech in Memphis 50 years ago.
The commemoration mirrors events half a century ago, when an enthusiastic crowd roused Dr King from his bed at the Lorraine Motel for an unplanned appearance, when he delivered his famous “Mountaintop” speech without notes.
Bernice King, his daughter, addressed the audience and called on her older brother, Martin Luther King III, to join her at the pulpit.
She discussed the difficulty of publicly mourning their father, a man who was hated during his lifetime but is now celebrated around the world.
“It’s important to see two of the children who lost their daddy 50 years ago to an assassin’s bullet,” said Ms King, now 55.
“But we kept going. Keep all of us in prayer as we continue the grieving process for a parent that we’ve had yet to bury.”
As the world prepares to mark the 50th anniversary of Dr King’s murder, the milestone coincides with a resurgence of white supremacy, the continued shootings of unarmed black men and a parade of discouraging statistics on the lack of progress among black Americans on issues from housing to education to wealth.
But rather than despair, the resounding message was one of resilience, resolve, and a renewed commitment to Dr King’s legacy and unfinished work.
