Benjamin Chavis - Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Service Tape 1 (April 4, 1979)
Loading the media player...
Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
- | Testing, testing, thank you, thank you. | 0:07 |
(applause) | 0:10 | |
Thank the lord we know have power. | 0:14 | |
At this time, Dance Black will come back | 0:18 | |
and do the number that they were about to do. | 0:20 | |
And like I said, thank all of you for | 0:23 | |
being so patient and so kind with us. | 0:26 | |
(pleasant music) | 0:40 | |
(applause) | 8:04 | |
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord. | 8:37 | |
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord. | 8:51 | |
Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. | 8:54 | |
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving. | 8:59 | |
Let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise. | 9:04 | |
Thank you, please sit down. | 9:10 | |
On behalf of Campus Ministry, Duke University | 9:20 | |
and Alpha Alpha Fraternity Cappa Macry Chapter, | 9:24 | |
I bid you a very warm and deeply felt welcome | 9:28 | |
to this, the third annual Memorial Service | 9:33 | |
and Tribute to Brother Martin Luther King Jr. | 9:37 | |
This marks the 11th anniversary of Brother Martin's death | 9:42 | |
and it may be very easy or convenient for us to come here | 9:50 | |
and mourn such an event or memorialize such a man. | 9:54 | |
But we are not here to mourn, nor are we here to | 10:03 | |
memorialize, we are here not to mourn the man | 10:06 | |
but to celebrate his life, his ideas, and his struggles. | 10:09 | |
We're here to commit ourselves to the type of | 10:17 | |
life which he attempted to live. | 10:20 | |
There are probably many of you who are not | 10:24 | |
acquainted with Brother Martin either directly or indirectly | 10:28 | |
and I don't know what you have heard but he was not a saint | 10:34 | |
nor was he some type of black Messiah, he was a man, | 10:39 | |
a man with vision, a man with ideas, | 10:47 | |
a man who dared to ask why are things not the way | 10:52 | |
they ought to be, a man with the courage to then go | 10:56 | |
out in the world and stand up and try to turn things | 11:02 | |
around to the way they should be. | 11:06 | |
We are here to pay tribute by rededicating and committing | 11:10 | |
ourselves to this, his ideas and his struggles. | 11:14 | |
This is a revival and we are here also to revive ourselves, | 11:24 | |
to revive our spirits, to revive our consciousness about | 11:32 | |
who we are and where we are. | 11:36 | |
This is an opportunity for us to come together | 11:39 | |
and to think upon what these many years and the people | 11:43 | |
who have come before us or gone before us | 11:47 | |
and what is all has meant. | 11:50 | |
This is a time for us to be spiritually reawakened | 11:53 | |
and for some of us to be awakened for the first time. | 11:59 | |
We must remember that this is a house, | 12:04 | |
a house of love, a house of warmth, a house of peace. | 12:09 | |
And this is how we come, to each other and to ourselves. | 12:16 | |
As my minister back home often says a house | 12:22 | |
that is large can often be cold but we don't want | 12:26 | |
you to be cold, we want you to be very warm | 12:30 | |
and very comfortable and if there are any in the back | 12:34 | |
who cannot hear or who feel a chill coming on your bones, | 12:39 | |
just come right down in front and get right close | 12:42 | |
to the fire because there's enough warmth, enough light | 12:46 | |
and enough love right down here for everybody. | 12:51 | |
We want you to enjoy this service, to enjoy this celebration | 12:56 | |
of life and hopefully to be moved enough to commit | 13:03 | |
yourselves, to revitalize your spirit. | 13:08 | |
If you would allow me, I think it is appropriate on this | 13:14 | |
occasion that we revive our memory somewhat, not | 13:20 | |
only of the man but what he stood for and more specifically | 13:25 | |
of where we are if you've opened your program, | 13:30 | |
you've seen the theme, the dream continues. | 13:35 | |
The dream, most assuredly, continues. | 13:42 | |
Brother Martin in Washington DC, 1963. | 13:48 | |
When the architects of our Republic wrote the magnificent | 13:56 | |
words of the Constitution and the Declaration of | 13:59 | |
Independence, they were signing a promissory note | 14:01 | |
to which every American was to fall heir. | 14:07 | |
The note was a promise that all men would be | 14:11 | |
guaranteed their inalienable rights. | 14:15 | |
That among these are those of life, liberty | 14:17 | |
and the pursuit of happiness. | 14:20 | |
It is obvious today, April 4th, 1979 | 14:25 | |
that America has defaulted on this promissory note | 14:32 | |
and so far as their citizens of color are concerned. | 14:36 | |
Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, | 14:41 | |
America has given the Negro people a bad check, | 14:44 | |
a check which has come back marked insufficient funds. | 14:48 | |
But we, as a people, refuse to believe that the bank of | 14:52 | |
justice is bankrupt, we refuse to believe that there | 14:57 | |
are insufficient funds in the great vault of opportunity | 15:01 | |
and this great land so we have come to cash in this check, | 15:04 | |
a check that will give us upon demand the riches of | 15:12 | |
freedom and the security of justice. | 15:17 | |
Again, welcome to this tribute. | 15:24 | |
At this time, will we all stand and join in | 15:29 | |
in singing the black national anthem. | 15:31 | |
(pleasant music) | 15:46 | |
♪ Lift every voice and sing, ♪ | 16:11 | |
♪ Till earth and heaven ring ♪ | 16:17 | |
♪ Ring with the harmonies of Liberty ♪ | 16:23 | |
♪ Let our rejoicing rise, ♪ | 16:35 | |
♪ High as the listening skies, ♪ | 16:41 | |
♪ Let it resound loud as the rolling sea ♪ | 16:49 | |
♪ Sing a song full of the faith ♪ | 17:03 | |
♪ that the dark past has taught us, ♪ | 17:09 | |
♪ Sing a song full of the hope that ♪ | 17:14 | |
♪ the present has brought us ♪ | 17:22 | |
♪ Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, ♪ | 17:30 | |
♪ Let us march on till victory is won ♪ | 17:45 | |
Thank you very much. | 18:00 | |
At this time, Brother Chavis will give us the scripture. | 18:11 | |
- | From the Gospel of Matthew chapter five, | 18:41 |
verse 10: | 18:48 | |
Blessed are those who are persecuted | 18:55 | |
for righteousness sake | 19:03 | |
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. | 19:07 | |
May the lord's blessing be upon | 19:16 | |
the reading of the holy scripture. | 19:18 | |
- | Let us pray. | 19:39 |
Oh God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come. | 19:44 | |
Our shelter from the stormy blast and our eternal home. | 19:53 | |
Everlasting god our father, it is again that we come | 19:59 | |
as humble as we know how, realizing that all of us have | 20:03 | |
sinned and fallen short of the glory of god. | 20:08 | |
As we come, oh god, on this auspicious occasion, | 20:13 | |
we come confessing that many of us as leaders have | 20:18 | |
placed political expediency above principle righteousness | 20:23 | |
and justice, we come, oh god, confessing that many of the | 20:29 | |
leaders of our nation and our state and our city | 20:35 | |
have been a tail light of regression rather than a | 20:39 | |
headlight of progression, we come confessing, this evening, | 20:42 | |
oh heavenly father that many of us have become captives | 20:47 | |
of the state rather than conscious of the state. | 20:51 | |
Oh god, we come asking for thy forgiveness. | 20:55 | |
Oh god, forgive us for turning the dream of the Late | 20:59 | |
Martin Luther King into a nightmare of defiance | 21:04 | |
against equal education, pornography in literature, | 21:08 | |
corruption in politics, forgive those, oh god, of us | 21:15 | |
who have retreated from the struggle for a few economic | 21:20 | |
crumbs that fall from the tables. | 21:25 | |
But oh god, our father we come because we know there is | 21:29 | |
power in prayer and we realize, oh god, that you said | 21:33 | |
ask and it shall be given, you said seek and we shall find. | 21:36 | |
You said knock and the door shall be opened. | 21:41 | |
We're calling on you this evening because we know there's | 21:44 | |
power in prayer, oh god, our father, we appeal | 21:46 | |
to the god of Abraham, to the god of Isaac | 21:51 | |
and to the God of Jacob, that you would bless | 21:54 | |
Reverend Benjamin Chavis and the Wilmington 10. | 21:57 | |
We pray that god bless Brother Jimmy Grand and the | 22:04 | |
Charlotte three, bless all of those, oh god, who are | 22:07 | |
under the shackles of slavery, under the shackles of | 22:11 | |
an evil system but oh god, we have faith tonight | 22:16 | |
knowing that there is a god somewhere, | 22:21 | |
the same god, our father, who unshackled the slaves | 22:24 | |
from John Chavis even before the Emancipation Proclamation | 22:31 | |
was signed and enabled him to go to Princeton University | 22:36 | |
and to come back to North Carolina and to teach one of | 22:40 | |
the Senators of this state, not only to teach one of the | 22:45 | |
Senators but to teach one of the Governors of this state, | 22:48 | |
that same god is able right now to lift us and lead us | 22:52 | |
and guide us and let us know that thou art god | 22:56 | |
and all power is in your hands because we know the power of | 22:59 | |
god who is able to make the crooked places straight. | 23:03 | |
Thou art a god that is able to make the rough places plain. | 23:07 | |
Thou art a god who is able to open doors and no man can | 23:11 | |
close 'em, thou art a god who got all power in your hand. | 23:15 | |
And oh god, our father, we're praying to you this evening, | 23:20 | |
oh god, we thank you, touch our hearts this evening. | 23:23 | |
Set 'em on fire that we might be able to continue | 23:26 | |
to walk together, that we might be able to pray together, | 23:30 | |
that we might be able to continue to sing together | 23:35 | |
and then when the battle is fought and the victory is won, | 23:38 | |
we might be able to say Hallelujah, the race is run. | 23:42 | |
Eternal life is gained, my happiness has just begun, the | 23:46 | |
crown of life obtained, in the name of Jesus we pray, amen. | 23:50 | |
- | At this portion of our program, will Mr Bill Harrison | 24:11 |
come forward, he has some announcements. | 24:16 | |
- | Good evening to you all. | 24:28 |
The only announcement that I have is to place | 24:31 | |
before you the fact that on tomorrow and Friday | 24:35 | |
the Black Seminary Union at the Divinity School | 24:41 | |
is sponsoring the Martin Luther King Jr Lecture series | 24:46 | |
which is a series on black preaching and our lecturer | 24:51 | |
for this year is Dr Kelly Miller Smith | 24:55 | |
and he will be here Duke University on Thursday at eight pm | 24:59 | |
which will be a worship service. | 25:06 | |
At 3:15 on Thursday there will be another service | 25:08 | |
in honor of Dr Martin Luther King in York Chapel. | 25:11 | |
There are some pamphlets here which will tell you more | 25:15 | |
about them and as you go out the door, some of the | 25:17 | |
ushers will have them to distribute and on Friday | 25:20 | |
at 9:20 am in the morning in York Chapel, he will | 25:25 | |
deliver a lecture there on black preaching. | 25:29 | |
We ask that those of you who can come, please do. | 25:33 | |
For we hope that what will be said and done there will | 25:36 | |
be beneficial to you all, I pray you god | 25:40 | |
speed this evening, God bless. | 25:42 | |
- | At this time we'll have another | 25:58 |
dance number by Dance Black. | 26:00 | |
(pleasant music) | 26:11 | |
♪ Tell them even if they don't believe you ♪ | 26:28 | |
♪ Just tell them even if they don't receive you ♪ | 26:36 | |
♪ Tell them for me, tell them for me ♪ | 26:45 | |
♪ Please tell them for me ♪ | 26:48 | |
♪ Tell them that I loved them ♪ | 26:51 | |
♪ And I came to let them know ♪ | 26:56 | |
♪ Tell them when it seems you are forsaken ♪ | 27:09 | |
♪ Just tell them though it seems your earth is shaken ♪ | 27:16 | |
♪ Tell them for me ♪ | 27:25 | |
♪ Please tell them for me ♪ | 27:27 | |
♪ Tell them that I loved them ♪ | 27:32 | |
♪ And I came to let them know ♪ | 27:36 | |
♪ Tell that lonely man who walks all alone ♪ | 27:50 | |
♪ Tell that crying child who doesn't have a home ♪ | 27:58 | |
♪ Tell those hungry people dying most indefinitely ♪ | 28:05 | |
♪ They don't even know that I care ♪ | 28:13 | |
(pleasant music) | 28:21 | |
♪ Tell them for me ♪ | 28:40 | |
♪ Tell them that I loved them ♪ | 28:43 | |
♪ Won't you tell them on the streets and on the highway ♪ | 29:02 | |
♪ Tell them and even on the byway ♪ | 29:09 | |
♪ Tell them I can mend the broken hearted ♪ | 29:16 | |
♪ And fix all the ones who have parted ♪ | 29:24 | |
♪ And I came to let them know ♪ | 29:28 | |
♪ I came to let them know ♪ | 29:34 | |
♪ And I came to let them go ♪ | 29:40 | |
(pleasant music) | 30:15 | |
♪ Oh happy day, oh happy day ♪ | 30:58 | |
♪ Oh happy day, oh happy day ♪ | 31:06 | |
(pleasant music) | 31:14 | |
♪ Oh happy day, oh happy day ♪ | 32:14 | |
(pleasant music) | 32:20 | |
♪ Oh happy day, oh happy day ♪ | 33:26 | |
♪ Oh happy day, oh happy day ♪ | 33:32 | |
♪ Oh happy day, oh happy day ♪ | 33:40 | |
♪ Oh happy day ♪ | 33:48 | |
(pleasant music) | 34:55 | |
(choir inaudibly singing) | 35:40 | |
(applause) | 40:01 | |
- | While the ushers bring the offering down up forward, | 41:17 |
will everybody please stand so that we may | 41:22 | |
bless the offer to him and I'm asking Reverend Welcher | 41:24 | |
to please bless the offering. | 41:32 | |
(soft music) | 41:36 | |
(choir music with inaudible singing) | 42:32 | |
- | This evening I'm very happy to introduce | 43:28 |
and present the preacher of the hour | 43:36 | |
who is a native of Oxford, North Carolina. | 43:41 | |
He is a minister in the United Church of Christ. | 43:48 | |
He has studied at Howard University. | 43:55 | |
He is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill North Carolina. | 44:03 | |
Presently is matriculating at the Duke Divinity School. | 44:09 | |
He is serving his student Pastorate Internship | 44:16 | |
at the Russel Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. | 44:23 | |
He has been in the struggle for justice and equality | 44:31 | |
for a number of years, he worked under the tutelage | 44:36 | |
of the late Dr Martin Luther King with the Southern | 44:41 | |
Christian Leadership Conference in Mississippi, | 44:45 | |
Alabama and Georgia, yes, he's a preacher. | 44:48 | |
He is a student, he is a child of god. | 45:01 | |
But it's sad to say he is also a prisoner in the state | 45:07 | |
of North Carolina, it is sad commentary that we have to | 45:13 | |
have on the decals of our automobiles first in freedom | 45:21 | |
and yet it has been identified that of the 18 identified | 45:26 | |
political prisoners in the United States, | 45:32 | |
13 of them are in the state of North Carolina. | 45:36 | |
It is a sad commentary that this man of god who has | 45:42 | |
a family, man who exemplifies humility, who exemplifies | 45:48 | |
the spirit of love, the spirit of justice and concern | 45:55 | |
for all of god's children, within the next hour and a half, | 46:01 | |
I will have to take him back to prison, this is very sad. | 46:08 | |
But in spite of that, we are glad to be here tonight | 46:13 | |
because he epitomizes the fact that the struggle for justice | 46:18 | |
and equality still goes on and I'm happy tonight that | 46:23 | |
we have a Reverend Ben Chavis, a man who has bull dog | 46:27 | |
determination, a man who has the courage of a Joshua, | 46:33 | |
a man who has the bull dog tenacity of a Moses so as I | 46:39 | |
stand to introduce him tonight to you, I'm glad | 46:43 | |
that I can do it because I'm reminded when I was in | 46:47 | |
the struggle in Alabama, I remember on one mass meeting | 46:52 | |
occasion, a lady got up to speak to address the mass | 46:55 | |
meeting and she was booed and she couldn't make her speech. | 47:00 | |
And someone stood up in the audience and said the | 47:06 | |
reason we don't wanna hear ya is because you're a club | 47:08 | |
member but you haven't paid your club dues. | 47:12 | |
I'm happy to say tonight that we have a man who is | 47:15 | |
not only a club member but he has paid his club dues | 47:19 | |
through three years of imprisonment and I'm glad tonight, | 47:25 | |
on this occasion when we come to celebrate the | 47:29 | |
assassination of the late Dr Martin Luther King, | 47:35 | |
I'm glad tonight that we are able to introduce a man | 47:38 | |
who is still in the struggle and we trust as he comes | 47:43 | |
that you will give him your undivided attention as he | 47:47 | |
comes to tell us where we are and where we need to go, | 47:51 | |
following the selection by the choir, the next voice | 47:56 | |
you will hear will be that of none other than the | 47:59 | |
Reverend Benjamin Chavis Jr of Oxford, North Carolina. | 48:03 | |
Let's give him a big hand. | 48:08 | |
(applause) | ||
- | Testing. | 48:53 |
Testing, one, two. | 49:06 | |
(pleasant music) | 49:10 | |
(applause) | 49:21 | |
(soft music) | 49:30 | |
♪ Lord, let me have a dream ♪ | 50:12 | |
♪ Without being a dreamer, oh lord ♪ | 50:20 | |
♪ Let me have a vision ♪ | 50:30 | |
♪ Without being consumed of it ♪ | 50:36 | |
♪ And let me work with diligence ♪ | 50:42 | |
♪ Always knowing that you are the start and the end of it ♪ | 50:50 | |
♪ And oh lord, let everything, everything I do ♪ | 50:58 | |
♪ Remind me of my love for you ♪ | 51:08 | |
♪ And lord, teach me how to love ♪ | 51:15 | |
♪ For so many are there in need of being, oh lord ♪ | 51:25 | |
♪ Teach me how to give ♪ | 51:33 | |
♪ For it's in giving, lord, that we truly learn how to live ♪ | 51:40 | |
♪ And let me work, let me work, please ♪ | 51:45 | |
♪ Let me work with diligence ♪ | 51:50 | |
♪ Always knowing that you are the start of end of it ♪ | 51:53 | |
♪ And oh my lord, let everything, everything I do ♪ | 52:01 | |
♪ Remind me of my love for you ♪ | 52:09 | |
♪ And lord, teach me how to love ♪ | 52:21 | |
♪ For so many are, they are in need of it, oh my lord ♪ | 52:30 | |
♪ Teach me how to truly give ♪ | 52:38 | |
♪ For it's in giving, lord, that I found that ♪ | 52:45 | |
♪ I truly learn to live and let me work ♪ | 52:47 | |
♪ Let me work, please, let me work with diligence ♪ | 52:54 | |
♪ Always knowing that you are the start, ♪ | 52:58 | |
♪ You are the start and the end of it ♪ | 53:02 | |
♪ And oh my lord, lord, let everything, ♪ | 53:06 | |
♪ Let everything I do ♪ | 53:11 | |
♪ Remind me of my love for you ♪ | 53:15 | |
♪ And oh lord, lord, why don't you let everything, ♪ | 53:21 | |
♪ Everything, everything I do ♪ | 53:27 | |
♪ Remind me of my love for you ♪ | 53:34 | |
(applause) | 53:47 | |
(soft music) | 54:27 | |
♪ To a place I'll live eternally ♪ | 54:35 | |
♪ Special place prepared just for me ♪ | 54:41 | |
♪ I'm going away, I'm going away, away ♪ | 54:46 | |
♪ I'm going away, I'm going away, oh yes, I am ♪ | 55:03 | |
♪ No more tears, sorrows over there ♪ | 55:18 | |
♪ We will live free from every care ♪ | 55:25 | |
♪ I'm going away ♪ | 55:29 | |
♪ I'm going away, away ♪ | 55:33 | |
♪ You will look for me and I'll be gone ♪ | 55:48 | |
♪ They'll be nobody there to put me out ♪ | 55:54 | |
♪ I'm going away, I'm going away ♪ | 55:58 | |
♪ I'm going away, oh yes I am ♪ | 56:14 | |
♪ Prepare just for me lord ♪ | 56:27 | |
♪ We gonna live eternally ♪ | 56:32 | |
♪ I'm going away, yes I am ♪ | 56:36 | |
♪ Oh yes I am, I'm going away ♪ | 56:46 | |
♪ I'm going away, oh yes I am ♪ | 56:55 | |
♪ One of these mornings, won't be very long ♪ | 57:01 | |
♪ You'll look for me, I'll be gone ♪ | 57:07 | |
♪ I'm going to glory, sing and shout ♪ | 57:13 | |
♪ Nobody there can put me out ♪ | 57:19 | |
♪ I'm gonna look up David in the heat of the day ♪ | 57:25 | |
♪ Gonna tune my harp and begin to play ♪ | 57:31 | |
♪ I'm gonna talk with the father ♪ | 57:37 | |
♪ And I'm gonna talk with his son ♪ | 57:40 | |
♪ Gonna tell 'em about the world that I've come from ♪ | 57:44 | |
♪ Gonna see my mother, my father too ♪ | 57:50 | |
♪ All of my friends gonna be up there too ♪ | 57:56 | |
♪ I'm going away, I'm going away, I'm going away ♪ | 58:01 | |
♪ Yes, I'm going away, surely, going away ♪ | 58:09 | |
♪ I'm goin', goin', goin', goin', goin', goin', goin' away ♪ | 58:16 | |
♪ Oh yes I am ♪ | 58:24 | |
♪ Oh yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ | 58:29 | |
♪ Goin', goin', goin', goin', goin', goin', goin', yes I am ♪ | 58:47 | |
♪ I'm goin' away, goin' away, goin' away, yes I am ♪ | 58:59 | |
♪ Won't be too long till someday ♪ | 59:10 | |
♪ Let me see ya clap your hands, everybody clap your hands ♪ | 59:17 | |
♪ If you're goin' away, oh yes ♪ | 59:23 | |
♪ We're goin' to see the king, oh yeah ♪ | 59:29 | |
♪ Goin' to see the king, so soon, oh ♪ | 59:35 | |
♪ We're goin' away, we're goin' away ♪ | 59:41 | |
♪ If you're goin' away, goin' to see the king, oh, yeah ♪ | 59:47 | |
♪ Someday we're goin' goin' goin', yeah ♪ | 1:00:01 | |
♪ We're gonna meet, we're gonna meet, we're gonna meet, yeah ♪ | 1:00:07 | |
♪ So soon we're goin', goin', goin', goin', oh yes ♪ | 1:00:14 | |
♪ We're gonna meet, we're gonna meet up there ♪ | 1:00:29 | |
♪ Gonna meet, oh, away, away, away ♪ | 1:00:34 | |
(applause) | 1:00:44 | |
(soft music) | 1:01:04 | |
♪ I'm goin' away, oh yes I am ♪ | 1:01:13 | |
♪ I'm goin' away, goin' away, goin' away ♪ | 1:01:23 | |
♪ Yes I am, I'm going away ♪ | 1:01:32 | |
♪ Oh yeah ♪ | 1:01:39 | |
(applause) | 1:01:44 | |
♪ I'm going away ♪ | 1:01:52 | |
♪ Goin' goin' goin' goin' goin' goin' goin', yeah ♪ | 1:02:02 | |
(applause) | 1:02:18 | |
- | First and foremost I want to thank God | 1:02:41 |
for enabling me to stand before you. | 1:02:49 | |
As we worship and praise god together in this | 1:02:56 | |
historic tribute to the life, | 1:03:01 | |
to the work, | 1:03:07 | |
ministry, sacrifice, | 1:03:10 | |
and dream of Martin Luther King Jr. | 1:03:15 | |
I want to express my humble gratitude to the | 1:03:25 | |
Alpha Fy Alpha Fy Fraternity | 1:03:28 | |
and the Duke University Black Campus Ministry | 1:03:32 | |
for co-sponsoring this service | 1:03:34 | |
and to Dance Black and to the Modern Black Dance Choir | 1:03:41 | |
and to the Russell Memorial CME Church Choir. | 1:03:46 | |
I think all of oughta say Amen. | 1:03:50 | |
- | Amen. | 1:03:52 |
- | This is a revival. | |
Although I know the hour is kind of late but | 1:04:00 | |
we're gonna spend a few minutes, a few moments to | 1:04:04 | |
serve the lord, | 1:04:12 | |
so glad to see the multitudes have come out. | 1:04:19 | |
I understand tonight we have official visitors | 1:04:25 | |
and representatives of the office of Governor James Hunt | 1:04:30 | |
present and I'm glad, I'm glad. | 1:04:35 | |
(applause) | 1:04:40 | |
I'm also very happy to be here in the company of | 1:04:54 | |
the Reverend LH Welch along with the members of | 1:04:59 | |
Russel Memorial CME Church. | 1:05:04 | |
I bring you greetings tonight from Dr Charles E Cobb | 1:05:11 | |
of the Executive Director of the United Church of Christ | 1:05:15 | |
commissioned for racial justice. | 1:05:20 | |
Additionally I would like to take this opportunity to | 1:05:26 | |
express my appreciation to the administration, | 1:05:30 | |
faculty and student body of Duke University for their | 1:05:35 | |
very kind reception that I have received during the | 1:05:41 | |
past nine months while attending the Divinity School. | 1:05:45 | |
And last but not least, I'm very happy, so very happy | 1:05:53 | |
to see my family who also have come to join with us tonight. | 1:05:57 | |
You know that the lord moves in mysterious ways. | 1:06:05 | |
And as I observe | 1:06:10 | |
the artistic and the aesthetic splendor | 1:06:16 | |
of the medieval gothic architecture | 1:06:21 | |
(applause) | 1:06:26 | |
of this chapel. | 1:06:32 | |
I'm reminded that the true beauty of this building | 1:06:37 | |
is the realization of the fact that the Holy Spirit dwells | 1:06:43 | |
here because this is the Lord's house. | 1:06:50 | |
Yet the essential question is whether or not | 1:06:56 | |
you will allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in your heart. | 1:06:59 | |
Fear is gone tonight, fear is gone. | 1:07:07 | |
I have been cautioned to be careful what I say. | 1:07:14 | |
But under the circumstances, I have no fear. | 1:07:22 | |
I only fear God Almighty. | 1:07:28 | |
(applause) | ||
You can lock me in a prison but you cannot lock Jesus out. | 1:07:42 | |
(applause) | 1:07:48 | |
On this day 11 years ago, in Memphis, Tennessee | 1:07:53 | |
a sinful, a sinful | 1:08:00 | |
calculated attempt was made | 1:08:04 | |
to stop and to shatter | 1:08:07 | |
the dream of not only a great | 1:08:12 | |
Christian leader but also it was an evil attempt | 1:08:14 | |
to stop and to shatter the dream of an oppressed people. | 1:08:19 | |
The tragedy of April the 4th, 1968 | 1:08:28 | |
was only a culmination of a long series of attempts | 1:08:32 | |
to shatter the dream of the dreamer. | 1:08:38 | |
After countless acts of intimidation, harassments, | 1:08:45 | |
jailings, persecutions, Martin Luther King Jr | 1:08:52 | |
paid the ultimate price, | 1:08:58 | |
he gave his life for the sake | 1:09:02 | |
of freedom for all of God's people. | 1:09:06 | |
Tonight, for the next few minutes, I invite you to | 1:09:11 | |
think with me on the topic, | 1:09:16 | |
the dream continues. | 1:09:20 | |
The dream continues. | 1:09:25 | |
As Christians, we are aware from the early days of the | 1:09:30 | |
church, down through the ages, | 1:09:35 | |
almost continuously there have been many | 1:09:39 | |
persecuted and marked solely because | 1:09:43 | |
of the effectiveness and the obedience of their faithful | 1:09:47 | |
witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. | 1:09:52 | |
Let us listen carefully to the Gospel of Saint Matthew, | 1:09:59 | |
chapter five, verse one through 12. | 1:10:05 | |
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain | 1:10:10 | |
and when he sat down, his disciples came to him | 1:10:16 | |
and he opened his mouth and taught them saying | 1:10:21 | |
blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the | 1:10:26 | |
Kingdom of heaven, | 1:10:31 | |
blessed are those who mourn | 1:10:35 | |
for they shall be comforted, | 1:10:40 | |
blessed are the meek | 1:10:44 | |
for they shall inherit the earth, | 1:10:48 | |
blessed are those who hunger | 1:10:52 | |
and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. | 1:10:56 | |
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. | 1:11:02 | |
Blessed are the pure in heart | 1:11:08 | |
for they shall see God. | 1:11:12 | |
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called | 1:11:17 | |
the sons of god, | 1:11:21 | |
blessed are those who are persecuted | 1:11:24 | |
for righteousness sake, | 1:11:27 | |
for theirs shall be the kingdom of heaven, | 1:11:29 | |
blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you | 1:11:34 | |
and utter all kinds of evil against you | 1:11:39 | |
falsely on my account, | 1:11:44 | |
rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in | 1:11:48 | |
heaven for so men persecuted | 1:11:52 | |
the prophets who were before you, | 1:11:57 | |
lord, bless that reading. | 1:12:03 | |
Here in the Gospel of Matthew, we find our lord and savior | 1:12:08 | |
Jesus Christ up on a high mountain, | 1:12:13 | |
teaching the moral and ethical presets of Christian life. | 1:12:18 | |
Jesus was instructed in both his disciples and the | 1:12:25 | |
multitudes who have gathered to hear him. | 1:12:28 | |
These verses of holy scriptures are the beginning of what | 1:12:34 | |
is commonly know, the Sermon on the Mount. | 1:12:37 | |
In particular, verses three through 12 of the fifth | 1:12:42 | |
chapter of Matthew are referred to as the Beatitudes. | 1:12:46 | |
And it is the eighth beatitude in verse 10 that I | 1:12:53 | |
have chosen for the text, Blessed are those | 1:12:57 | |
who are persecuted for righteousness sake, | 1:13:02 | |
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. | 1:13:05 | |
The word blessed literally | 1:13:09 | |
translated means | 1:13:15 | |
an inner joy that is untouchable, an inner joy | 1:13:17 | |
that is untouchable by anything in the world, | 1:13:21 | |
untouchable joy, when a Christian disciple accepts god's | 1:13:24 | |
call, nothing on earth can touch him. | 1:13:29 | |
When a Christian disciple asks for god and his soul, | 1:13:33 | |
nothin' in the world can stop him. | 1:13:37 | |
A true Christian does not try to ride the fence | 1:13:41 | |
between the crucial issues of life. | 1:13:47 | |
A true Christian does not try to avoid | 1:13:50 | |
taking a stand for justice and freedom. | 1:13:53 | |
A true Christian does not try to avoid taking up the cross | 1:13:57 | |
of struggle for all of god's people. | 1:14:02 | |
If you are livin' a life | 1:14:07 | |
of involvement for righteousness sake, | 1:14:12 | |
you must expect persecution. | 1:14:17 | |
You might as well look forward to it. | 1:14:21 | |
However, the text additionally informs us | 1:14:26 | |
that if you are persecuted for righteousness sake, | 1:14:31 | |
the kingdom of heaven will be yours. | 1:14:34 | |
Because of Martin Luther King Jr's | 1:14:40 | |
effective leadership in the civil rights | 1:14:48 | |
and human rights movement, | 1:14:50 | |
because of his Christian leadership, he was | 1:14:52 | |
singled out for persecution. | 1:14:56 | |
It is important to understand that the strategy to silence | 1:15:00 | |
Dr King was a strategy to silence the freedom movement. | 1:15:03 | |
Part of American history is a sad commentary | 1:15:12 | |
of 400 years, | 1:15:16 | |
400 years of systematic denial | 1:15:19 | |
of fundamental human rights. | 1:15:24 | |
Black Americans and other minority citizens. | 1:15:28 | |
It's a sad commentary. | 1:15:32 | |
The Christian Church too often has found | 1:15:36 | |
itself on the wrong side. | 1:15:40 | |
The Christian Church too often, | 1:15:47 | |
during these past 400 years | 1:15:52 | |
has found itself on the wrong side. | 1:15:53 | |
Too often the church's main has remained silent | 1:15:58 | |
admits the injustice and human exploitation | 1:16:00 | |
but thank god the black church in America has been | 1:16:07 | |
like a constant piercing sharp | 1:16:11 | |
thorn in the side of America. | 1:16:16 | |
Thank god the black church has proclaimed the | 1:16:20 | |
liberating gospel of Jesus Christ. | 1:16:22 | |
Thank god that there has been a continuous voice | 1:16:26 | |
crying out in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the | 1:16:31 | |
lord, make straight the highway in the desert for God, | 1:16:35 | |
every valley shall be lifted up and every mountain | 1:16:41 | |
and hill be made low, the uneven ground shall become level | 1:16:44 | |
and in rough places, a plane. | 1:16:50 | |
Therefore, we are gathered together tonight to give | 1:16:56 | |
thanks to God for the freedom that is in Christ. | 1:17:00 | |
We are here to take time to say that the life and the death | 1:17:06 | |
of Dr King still has a tremendous | 1:17:11 | |
significance for us all. | 1:17:16 | |
We are here to affirm that | 1:17:21 | |
the dream continues. | 1:17:24 | |
A dream can be defined as a series of thoughts, | 1:17:30 | |
images or emotions occurring during sleep. | 1:17:35 | |
Or further a dream can be a visionary creation of the | 1:17:41 | |
imagination but this is not the kind of dream that | 1:17:45 | |
I am talking about, | 1:17:50 | |
Dr King's dream was not some type of mysterious, | 1:17:55 | |
abstract other worldly experience in the subconscious. | 1:17:58 | |
Dr King's dream was a conscious desire for the | 1:18:03 | |
freedom of all people | 1:18:08 | |
and as he used to articulate it, | 1:18:12 | |
it was very close to the so called American dream. | 1:18:14 | |
Yet Martin's dream transcended the so called American dream | 1:18:19 | |
because Martin Luther King Jr recognized that we're | 1:18:24 | |
all creatures of god, created equally in the image of god. | 1:18:26 | |
Martin defined his dream as a goal or a quest | 1:18:34 | |
for the equality of human opportunity. | 1:18:41 | |
A dream of a land where men will not take the necessities | 1:18:46 | |
from the many to give luxuries to the few, | 1:18:51 | |
a dream of a land where men and women do not argue | 1:18:55 | |
that the color of one's skin determines the content | 1:19:00 | |
of one's character, a dream of a place where all gifts | 1:19:03 | |
and resources are not held for ourselves alone | 1:19:07 | |
but as for instruments of service to the rest of humanity, | 1:19:10 | |
a dream of a country where every man and woman will | 1:19:17 | |
respect the dignity and worth of all human personality | 1:19:19 | |
and where all people would dare to | 1:19:25 | |
live together as brothers and sisters. | 1:19:27 | |
I believe as Martin Luther King Jr believed, | 1:19:35 | |
that this universal dream | 1:19:41 | |
and quest for freedom existed | 1:19:45 | |
originally in the mind of God | 1:19:49 | |
and that Martin was one of the long | 1:19:53 | |
evangelical succession of prophetic witnesses | 1:19:56 | |
in the communication of God's dream to God's people. | 1:20:01 | |
Dr King knew that there were the powers of evil who | 1:20:06 | |
would eventually cause him physical harm if he persisted | 1:20:11 | |
in proclaiming the dream, | 1:20:15 | |
yet as a preacher of a gospel, | 1:20:19 | |
he believed in the promises that Jesus made up on that | 1:20:21 | |
mountain, blessed are those who are persecuted for | 1:20:26 | |
righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. | 1:20:30 | |
Another aspect of this dream | 1:20:39 | |
is that it affirms that freedom is a constant struggle. | 1:20:45 | |
In fact I can clearly see in Martin's dream, | 1:20:50 | |
the dream of Fredrick Douglas. | 1:20:57 | |
I can see in Martin Luther King's dream, | 1:21:01 | |
the dream of Shaka, the Zulu freedom fighter. | 1:21:02 | |
I can see the dreams of Richard Allen, Nathaniel Turner, | 1:21:07 | |
Harriet Tubman, Henry Garnett, WB Dubois, | 1:21:11 | |
Malcolm X and Medgar Evers, | 1:21:16 | |
part of Dr King's dream was a | 1:21:20 | |
teleological expression of the historical quest | 1:21:24 | |
for freedom, | 1:21:28 | |
for black freedom in America and in Africa. | 1:21:31 | |
That dream was to understand the necessity to pick up | 1:21:38 | |
the cross of struggle, | 1:21:44 | |
during this Lenten season, | 1:21:49 | |
leading up to the Easter celebration, | 1:21:51 | |
I wonder how many of you are willing | 1:21:56 | |
to pick up the cross of Jesus. | 1:21:59 | |
I wonder how many of you are willing to | 1:22:03 | |
be persecuted for righteousness sake. | 1:22:06 | |
I wonder how many of you are willing to take a | 1:22:12 | |
visible stand for justice. | 1:22:14 | |
I wonder how many of you are willing to do unto | 1:22:18 | |
others as you would have others do unto you. | 1:22:21 | |
As Robert Cushman affirms, the Christian is called into | 1:22:30 | |
a transformed life which is a cruciform life. | 1:22:35 | |
The gospel teaches us that Jesus told his disciples | 1:22:41 | |
if any man or if any woman would come after me, | 1:22:47 | |
let him or her deny themselves | 1:22:54 | |
and take up the cross and follow me | 1:22:58 | |
for whoever would save his life will lose it | 1:23:03 | |
and whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it. | 1:23:07 | |
For what will it profit a man if he gains the | 1:23:12 | |
whole world and forfeits his soul? | 1:23:15 | |
So I ask the question must Jesus bear the cross alone | 1:23:26 | |
and all of the world go free, no. | 1:23:33 | |
There's a cross for everyone and there's a cross for me. | 1:23:37 | |
Yes, we're gonna have to bear the cross right here | 1:23:43 | |
in the state of North Carolina | 1:23:45 | |
where it is quite evident | 1:23:49 | |
that the sins of racism are overtly manifest. | 1:23:53 | |
Why is it that out of all of the 50 states, | 1:24:01 | |
one state says we are not gonna integrate our | 1:24:03 | |
state University system, why is it? | 1:24:06 | |
(applause) | 1:24:09 | |
Why is it with all of the factories that we have, | 1:24:18 | |
all of the industrial production that we have | 1:24:20 | |
that North Carolina ranks 50th in industrial | 1:24:23 | |
wages that are paid to the workers, why is it? | 1:24:26 | |
(applause) | 1:24:30 | |
Why is it that folk in this state are just plum | 1:24:36 | |
scared to death to struggle, why is it? | 1:24:38 | |
It's because they know that 10 people from Wilmington | 1:24:46 | |
and three from Charlotte went to jail. | 1:24:50 | |
There is fear in this state, there is fear in this state. | 1:24:53 | |
(applause) | 1:24:57 | |
We need to bear the cross of struggle. | 1:24:59 | |
We need to confront the sin that's in this state. | 1:25:04 | |
And so for my good friends, I really wish the Governor | 1:25:09 | |
was here himself, but I want you to tell old Pharaoh, | 1:25:13 | |
tell old Pharaoh, tell old Pharaoh, | 1:25:20 | |
tell old Pharaoh, | 1:25:26 | |
thus says the Lord God, let my people go. | 1:25:30 | |
Let my people go! | 1:25:36 | |
(applause) | ||
I'm a native of North Carolina. | 1:25:57 | |
This is my home state so I feel I can talk about home. | 1:26:01 | |
(applause) | 1:26:04 | |
The only way to deal with sin is to deal | 1:26:11 | |
with it straight up. | 1:26:13 | |
(cheering) | ||
We've got to pull the sheet off of the | 1:26:18 | |
camouflage that's been on this state. | 1:26:21 | |
God is both a God of love | 1:26:35 | |
and a God of justice. | 1:26:39 | |
Love and justice are inseparable. | 1:26:43 | |
You can't have one without the other. | 1:26:46 | |
If there's no justice, there's no love. | 1:26:50 | |
If there's no love, there's no justice. | 1:26:53 | |
God does act in history, | 1:27:02 | |
god is gonna act in North Carolina history, | 1:27:06 | |
believe you me, my sisters and my brothers. | 1:27:13 | |
(applause) | 1:27:17 | |
Tonight is a living example | 1:27:21 | |
of the power of God Almighty. | 1:27:26 | |
Believe me, we have black and white, | 1:27:32 | |
old and young, rich and poor | 1:27:37 | |
sharing this time together to talk about a | 1:27:42 | |
dream that will transform some of the divisions that | 1:27:45 | |
have kept us apart for too long, for too long. | 1:27:50 | |
And this is where the message should be proclaimed | 1:27:55 | |
right in the house of the lord. | 1:27:59 | |
And I know that some of the things I say may | 1:28:03 | |
be disturbing to the dry bones down in the basement. | 1:28:05 | |
(applause) | 1:28:10 | |
But when the spirit of the lord is upon | 1:28:23 | |
you, the truth must be told. | 1:28:24 | |
(applause) | ||
God acts in human history on behalf of the poor | 1:28:34 | |
and the oppressed, | 1:28:36 | |
I agree with Professor Herzog when he said that | 1:28:40 | |
when we come to celebrate holy communion. | 1:28:45 | |
When we drink the wine and partake of the body | 1:28:48 | |
of our lord and savior, | 1:28:53 | |
Jesus Christ in the Eucharistic feast, | 1:28:54 | |
that is a faith affirmation, that is you involving yourself | 1:28:59 | |
in the life of Jesus Christ and his holy spirit who | 1:29:04 | |
shed his blood that you be free. | 1:29:08 | |
You see, we have to understand what Paul was talking | 1:29:13 | |
about when he wrote to the Galatians, to the church | 1:29:15 | |
in Galatia when he said Christ has made you free. | 1:29:18 | |
Never submit to the yoke of freedom again. | 1:29:25 | |
If you take holy communion and participate in the freedom | 1:29:30 | |
that is within Jesus Christ, | 1:29:35 | |
never submit to the yoke of slavery, | 1:29:38 | |
never, not sometime, never. | 1:29:43 | |
Slavery is against God. | 1:29:50 | |
God didn't intend for any of his creatures to be exploited. | 1:29:54 | |
God didn't intend for the white man to be over the black | 1:30:00 | |
man, God didn't intend for the black man | 1:30:04 | |
to be over the white man, god intended for us all to live | 1:30:05 | |
and struggle together as brothers and sisters. | 1:30:09 | |
(applause) | 1:30:12 | |
Modern society tends to ignore God's providential activity | 1:30:21 | |
and the ultimacy of God's power. | 1:30:26 | |
One prime example since I talked about North Carolina, | 1:30:31 | |
I might as well talk about Pennsylvania. | 1:30:35 | |
In Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, is a classic | 1:30:38 | |
example of modern society ignoring God's | 1:30:41 | |
providential activity in human history. | 1:30:45 | |
You see we tend to build up modern towers of Babel. | 1:30:50 | |
We tend to put our ultimate value in nuclear power | 1:30:57 | |
and forget all about god's power. | 1:31:02 | |
You see, I think we have to step on the toes of | 1:31:06 | |
Con Edison Power Company, Carolina Power Company | 1:31:12 | |
and Duke Power Company. | 1:31:15 | |
(applause) | ||
Where corporate boards make decisions not in the interests | 1:31:20 | |
of humanity but in the interest of monopoly profit. | 1:31:23 | |
Talkin' about corporate sin that we all share in, | 1:31:29 | |
that we all share in | 1:31:33 | |
but I know a greater power company, | 1:31:37 | |
a greater power company where there are only | 1:31:40 | |
three members on the board, only three members. | 1:31:44 | |
(applause) | 1:31:47 | |
Only three members. | 1:31:50 | |
(applause) | ||
The greatest power company in the world. | 1:31:56 | |
The father, the son and the Holy Spirit. | 1:31:58 | |
(applause) | 1:32:01 | |
America is heading on a self destructive course. | 1:32:09 | |
America better get right with God. | 1:32:14 | |
Brothers and sisters, we all better get right | 1:32:19 | |
with god by getting right with Jesus. | 1:32:21 | |
We better get right with god by getting right with Jesus | 1:32:28 | |
and getting right with Jesus is picking up the cross | 1:32:31 | |
and struggling for all of god's peoples sake. | 1:32:37 | |
Picking up the cross, struggle, | 1:32:43 | |
getting right with Jesus. | 1:32:47 | |
Rather than allowing society to transform us into | 1:32:51 | |
social conformists, we must transform society into | 1:32:55 | |
the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. | 1:32:59 | |
Brother C Eric Lincoln is correct when he states that | 1:33:05 | |
contemporary Western society is characterized by | 1:33:08 | |
an exaggerated social flux. | 1:33:13 | |
This inordinate instability is productive | 1:33:17 | |
of a certain catastrophic debilitative anxiety. | 1:33:23 | |
With sins frantically, which sends people frantically | 1:33:30 | |
for assurance among the multi various institutions | 1:33:33 | |
for which society fortifies itself against disillusion. | 1:33:37 | |
Let me break that down, Br Lincoln gets kinda out there. | 1:33:43 | |
(applause) | 1:33:46 | |
The point I'm trying to make and the point Br Lincoln | 1:33:55 | |
is making is that America cannot solve | 1:33:57 | |
or cannot save itself | 1:34:01 | |
without the saving prevenient grace of the lord. | 1:34:03 | |
Can't save itself. | 1:34:06 | |
You can build 100 nuclear reactors, that is not | 1:34:09 | |
gonna solve the energy problem. | 1:34:13 | |
The main problem with America, the main problem | 1:34:16 | |
with the world is human sin, human sin. | 1:34:18 | |
When one people will try to exploit the other | 1:34:22 | |
for the profit of a few people. | 1:34:24 | |
The Christian church has to begin to attack the race | 1:34:28 | |
problem, the Christian church has to begin to attack | 1:34:32 | |
the class problem, it's coming to America. | 1:34:35 | |
We cannot isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. | 1:34:39 | |
Imperialism is on it's death bed. | 1:34:43 | |
Monopoly Capitalism is on the way out. | 1:34:46 | |
(applause) | 1:34:48 | |
Therefore, the dream, the quest, the struggle is not | 1:34:53 | |
just to redeem black America from white oppression | 1:34:56 | |
but the dream includes the | 1:34:59 | |
redemption of all of god's people. | 1:35:00 | |
Liberation theology proclaims the freedom of the | 1:35:03 | |
enslaved and of the enslaver. | 1:35:06 | |
I ask Professor Herbert Edwards to sum up | 1:35:10 | |
the impact or to describe the reaction | 1:35:14 | |
to Dr King's dream. | 1:35:20 | |
What was the real reaction of America to | 1:35:22 | |
Dr King's dream in the United States? | 1:35:26 | |
Brother Edwards stated that, quote, | 1:35:29 | |
it was frightening. | 1:35:35 | |
It laid bare for the first time | 1:35:39 | |
that Americans were never | 1:35:43 | |
really committed to a society | 1:35:48 | |
based on the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. | 1:35:52 | |
Martin Luther King's dream is frightening | 1:35:58 | |
because he dared America to live up to | 1:36:04 | |
its moral standards. | 1:36:09 | |
(applause) | 1:36:12 | |
Frightening. | 1:36:13 | |
(applause) | ||
That's why he was labeled a subversive. | 1:36:20 | |
That's why he was put on a hit list, | 1:36:26 | |
not only by the Klan but by the US Government. | 1:36:28 | |
Common interests, common interests. | 1:36:33 | |
What King did was to call into question the use of | 1:36:42 | |
universal language with particularistic application. | 1:36:44 | |
Yes, what Brother King did was to call this country | 1:36:52 | |
into a moral and ethical judgment under | 1:36:55 | |
the providential eyes of God Almighty. | 1:36:57 | |
And so where are we today? | 1:37:03 | |
Are we any closer to | 1:37:09 | |
community or have we gone | 1:37:12 | |
closer to the chaos foretold by the prophet? | 1:37:14 | |
One thing though is clear, | 1:37:22 | |
the dream continues. | 1:37:26 | |
The dream continues, for blessed are those who | 1:37:30 | |
are persecuted for righteousness sake. | 1:37:33 | |
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. | 1:37:36 | |
See, they can kill the dreamer | 1:37:39 | |
but you cannot kill the dream. | 1:37:41 | |
(applause) | 1:37:43 | |
They crucified Jesus but on the third day he rose again. | 1:37:47 | |
Tonight I'm calling for a revitalization of the civil | 1:37:52 | |
rights movement and the human rights movement. | 1:37:56 | |
Let us all rededicate ourselves to be about the | 1:38:00 | |
constant cause of human freedom through Jesus. | 1:38:04 | |
Let us rededicate ourselves to join hands together | 1:38:10 | |
both black and white as we seek to do the will of god. | 1:38:13 | |
Let us be born again in the struggle for worldwide love | 1:38:20 | |
and peace based on a universal premise of | 1:38:23 | |
brotherhood and sisterhood. | 1:38:26 | |
I am confident that if Martin Luther King Jr | 1:38:30 | |
could speak directly to us tonight, | 1:38:34 | |
he would forthrightly tell us that if you really | 1:38:38 | |
want to keep the dream alive, do not go out | 1:38:43 | |
and build monuments to me | 1:38:46 | |
because it is not I, but god | 1:38:50 | |
who assures human freedom through Christ. | 1:38:53 | |
Martin would surely tell us that if want to keep the | 1:38:57 | |
dream alive, then go out there where the people are | 1:38:59 | |
suffering and try to help somebody. | 1:39:04 | |
Go out there where the people are hungry | 1:39:06 | |
and try to help feed somebody. | 1:39:09 | |
Go out there where the people are oppressed | 1:39:11 | |
and try to help liberate somebody. | 1:39:14 |
- | How long? | 0:04 |
How long, God, how long? | 0:07 | |
How long, God, will the (mumbles) three | 0:11 | |
have to stay in prison? | 0:13 | |
How long, oh, Father, | 0:17 | |
will I be locked away from my family? | 0:21 | |
How long, God, how long | 0:25 | |
will my people have to | 0:28 | |
be under the chain of slavery | 0:31 | |
that has been taken off their ankles | 0:34 | |
and put on their brains? | 0:36 | |
How long? | 0:38 | |
(audience applauds) | 0:39 | |
How long, God, how long? | 0:40 | |
How long, Lord, will our people come to services like this | 0:48 | |
and by tomorrow morning will have forgotten the dream? | 0:51 | |
How long? How long? | 0:56 | |
How long will the mothers have to cry at night? | 1:01 | |
How long | 1:05 | |
will my white brother refuse to hold my hand? | 1:08 | |
How long? How long? | 1:11 | |
Not long. | 1:17 | |
Not long. | 1:20 | |
Not long. | 1:23 | |
The eschatological peruser is right around the corner. | 1:25 | |
Not long. | 1:31 | |
Will thou save the eschaton? Not long. | 1:34 | |
Not long. | 1:38 | |
Freedom is coming. Won't be long. | 1:40 | |
What we have to do is to keep the faith. | 1:44 | |
Keep the faith. Don't lose sight of the struggle. | 1:47 | |
And don't lose your responsibility, people. | 1:51 | |
We all have a part to play in this struggle. | 1:54 | |
There is no individual. | 1:57 | |
One of the biggest problems that North Carolinians has | 1:58 | |
is this problem of recognition. | 2:01 | |
Everybody wants to get up on the soap box | 2:03 | |
and be the leader. But you can't have, | 2:05 | |
you can't be a leader until you're a good follower. | 2:08 | |
And I suggest to you tonight that if you follow Jesus Christ | 2:11 | |
He will show you how to lead your people. | 2:14 | |
(audience applauds) | 2:17 | |
So it won't be long. | 2:25 | |
That's why we have to keep on singing "We Shall Overcome." | 2:27 | |
April the fourth, 1979. | 2:35 | |
Brother Martin, it's been 11 years. | 2:41 | |
We cannot let you down. | 2:46 | |
But Brother Martin, at least here in Durham, North Carolina, | 2:50 | |
in this chapel for a few moments, | 2:54 | |
we're gonna rededicate ourselves to your dream. | 2:57 | |
We're gonna try to use our energy, our talents, | 3:03 | |
whatever education that we've allowed to have | 3:05 | |
to make a reality out of that dream. | 3:10 | |
So Brother Martin, rest. Rest comfortably, Brother. | 3:14 | |
We're not gonna let you down totally. | 3:20 | |
The mere fact that so many of you have come out tonight. | 3:25 | |
I hope it wasn't just out of curiosity. | 3:28 | |
But I hope that you will leave here with a new commitment. | 3:31 | |
Not only on your lips but in your heart | 3:36 | |
to turn North Carolina around. To turn America around. | 3:41 | |
To turn the world around. | 3:45 | |
So we have to let freedom ring. | 3:52 | |
We have to let freedom ring. | 3:59 | |
In our hearts, in our lives. | 4:04 | |
In our workplaces. In our classrooms. | 4:08 | |
In our prison cells. In our hospitals. | 4:13 | |
In our rest homes. | 4:17 | |
Wherever God's people are, we have to let freedom ring. | 4:19 | |
And when we let freedom ring from every village | 4:27 | |
and from every hamlet, | 4:31 | |
when we let freedom ring from every state | 4:34 | |
and from every city, | 4:36 | |
when we let freedom ring from wherever God's people are, | 4:38 | |
we will be able to speed up the day | 4:43 | |
when all of God's children, | 4:46 | |
black men and white men | 4:50 | |
and white women and black women, | 4:53 | |
black youth and white youth, | 4:56 | |
Jews and Gentiles, | 4:59 | |
Islamic and Hindu, Protestant and Catholic, | 5:04 | |
all of us one day | 5:11 | |
if we will stick to our commitments. | 5:15 | |
All of us one day | 5:16 | |
will be able to join hands together | 5:19 | |
and struggle together | 5:25 | |
and joyously sing | 5:29 | |
the words of that old black | 5:32 | |
spiritual. Free. | 5:37 | |
Free at last. | 5:44 | |
Lord Jesus, thank you. | 5:49 | |
We'll be free at last. | 5:52 | |
We'll be free at last. The dream will be fulfilled. | 5:57 | |
We'll be free at last. Thank you, Lord. | 6:04 | |
It'll be a happy day. | 6:11 | |
And that day is only gonna come about, | 6:18 | |
we keep our hands to the plow and continue to struggle. | 6:24 | |
And so as I go back to the prison now, | 6:31 | |
I go back not with a heavy heart. | 6:36 | |
Not with bitterness. | 6:41 | |
But with an optimistic urge | 6:44 | |
to participate in the freedom struggle. | 6:49 | |
Since I was 14 years old, | 6:59 | |
I sort of dedicated my life to the struggle. | 7:04 | |
And it hasn't been easy. | 7:12 | |
But I want to testify tonight that it's been rewarding. | 7:16 | |
It has been rewarding. | 7:21 | |
So I'm optimistic. | 7:25 | |
I'm optimistic. We're gonna win. | 7:29 | |
We're gonna win soon. | 7:33 | |
'Cause God is on our side. | 7:37 | |
A proper ending for this message would be | 7:46 | |
for us to stand together. | 7:48 | |
Join hands together. | 7:53 | |
Let us sing. | 7:57 | |
The song that Martin Luther King would want us to sing. | 8:00 | |
(organ music) | 8:15 | |
We Shall Overcome. | 8:19 | |
When you sing this song you have to believe it. | 8:24 | |
♪ We shall overcome ♪ | 9:01 | |
♪ We shall overcome ♪ | 9:07 | |
Everybody join hands. | 9:12 | |
Let's sing together. | 9:13 | |
♪ We shall overcome someday ♪ | 9:14 | |
♪ Oh, deep in my heart ♪ | 9:23 | |
♪ I do believe ♪ | 9:30 | |
♪ We shall overcome someday ♪ | 9:36 | |
♪ We'll walk hand in hand ♪ | 9:48 | |
We'll walk hand in hand. | 9:53 | |
♪ We'll walk hand in hand ♪ | 9:55 | |
Yes, Lord, hand in hand. | 9:58 | |
♪ We'll walk hand in hand someday ♪ | 10:00 | |
♪ Oh, deep in my heart ♪ | 10:10 | |
♪ I do believe ♪ | 10:17 | |
♪ We shall overcome someday ♪ | 10:23 | |
♪ We are not afraid ♪ | 10:34 | |
We're not afraid. | 10:38 | |
♪ We are not afraid ♪ | 10:41 | |
The fear is gone tonight. | 10:44 | |
We're not afraid. | 10:45 | |
♪ We are not afraid today ♪ | 10:46 | |
Yes, Lord, yes. | 10:54 | |
♪ Oh, deep in my heart ♪ | 10:56 | |
♪ I do believe ♪ | 11:02 | |
♪ We shall overcome some day ♪ | 11:08 | |
♪ God is on our side ♪ | 11:19 | |
God is on our side. | 11:23 | |
♪ God is on our side ♪ | 11:25 | |
- | Everybody sing. | 11:28 |
♪ God is on our side today ♪ | 11:30 | |
Let me hear you say it tonight. | 11:38 | |
- | Yes. | 11:40 |
♪ Oh, deep in my heart ♪ | 11:41 | |
♪ I do believe ♪ | 11:46 | |
♪ We shall overcome someday ♪ | 11:52 | |
- | Remain standing for the benediction. | 12:03 |
Oh God, | 12:08 | |
as we leave, Lord, | 12:11 | |
let us say thank you one more time. | 12:12 | |
- | Thank you, Jesus. | 12:15 |
- | Thank you for all of the goodness | 12:16 |
and blessings of this life. | 12:18 | |
- | Thank you. | 12:20 |
- | You've been good to us, Lord. | 12:21 |
- | Thank you, Jesus. | 12:23 |
- | You've brought us a might long way. | 12:25 |
- | Thank you, Jesus. | 12:27 |
Thank you, Jesus. | 12:29 | |
- | Lord, help us to pick the narrow gate. | 12:31 |
- | Thank you, Jesus. | 12:33 |
- | Help us to stay strong in our faith. | 12:35 |
- | Yes. | 12:38 |
Come with your power. | 12:40 | |
- | Now, Lord, as we depart from one another. | 12:41 |
- | Yes, sir. | 12:43 |
- | Go with us to our homes. | 12:44 |
Bless us all. | 12:48 | |
Bless this table. | 12:51 | |
Bless all of they people in thy countries of the world. | 12:56 | |
We commit ourselves today, oh, God, | 13:04 | |
to thy struggle. | 13:08 | |
We pray in the name of the Father, | 13:11 | |
Son, | 13:17 | |
and the majestic Holy Spirit. | 13:19 | |
Amen. | 13:23 | |
Let us sing one more verse of "We Shall Overcome" | 13:24 | |
and we'll go. | 13:27 | |
Bless you. | 13:30 | |
♪ Oh we shall overcome ♪ | 13:33 | |
♪ We shall overcome ♪ | 13:39 | |
♪ We shall overcome someday ♪ | 13:44 | |
♪ Deep in my heart ♪ | 13:55 | |
♪ I do believe ♪ | 14:00 | |
♪ We shall overcome someday ♪ | 14:06 | |
Bless you. | 14:17 | |
- | Thank you, beautiful, beautiful. | 14:18 |
(audience applauds) | 14:21 | |
Let's give him a big hand. | 14:25 | |
Let's give him a big hand. | 14:27 | |
Let's give him a hand. | 14:30 |