Martin Luther King, Sr. - Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Service (April 4, 1980)

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-	Martin Luther King Jr. memorial service.	0:04
	April 4, 1980, Duke Chapel.	0:06
	(gentle piano music)	0:44
	(choir singing)	12:55
-	Good evening.	16:02
	I bid, to each and every one of you,	16:04
	a very hearty	16:08
	and joyful welcome.	16:09
	Tonight, on this very memorable	16:12
	and heartbreaking	16:17
	and sad, but yet joyful occasion,	16:21
	we welcome you to	16:25
	this house,	16:28
	this house of worship,	16:29
	for those of you who are new here	16:30
	and we hope that you will feel as if this is your house.	16:34
	It is always your house	16:39
	and you're always welcome here,	16:41
	but	16:43
	we are making a very special effort tonight	16:44
	to make you feel right at home.	16:48
	Tonight we come together	16:54
	to commemorate the life,	16:58
	the workings and the teachings	17:03
	of the late brother Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.	17:06
	There are many	17:13
	facets we could talk about.	17:15
	We've come to talk about, to commemorate the man,	17:19
	a father, a husband, a worker in his community.	17:23
	We've come to commemorate the ideal,	17:30
	the philosopher, the teacher.	17:32
	We've come to commemorate the spirit	17:36
	of service to mankind,	17:39
	the search for the truth	17:42
	and the search for love and understanding.	17:45
	So we've come to commemorate many things	17:49
	tonight.	17:52
	We've come to commemorate	17:54
	what he meant to the struggle,	17:56
	to that never ending quest for	17:59
	self autonomy and self identity in this country	18:03
	and we've come to commemorate	18:07
	what he meant to the faith,	18:09
	to those many Christians who believe that God is very much	18:12
	a part of the struggle	18:17
	and is very much a part of their lives and their existence,	18:19
	because of him.	18:22
	We've come to commemorate the man,	18:25
	Martin Luther King Jr.,	18:29
	share in his joys and his triumphs	18:32
	and to share in his dreams	18:35
	for tomorrow.	18:37
	That is why we are here	18:41
	and on behalf of	18:43
	Duke University,	18:45
	the chapel staff, the union,	18:47
	Black Campus Ministry and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity,	18:51
	I bid you	18:56
	welcome this evening.	18:58
-	At this occasion also, we come to worship,	19:06
	therefor praise the lord, oh nations.	19:07
	Extol him all peoples.	19:13
	For great is his steadfast love toward us	19:16
	and the faithfulness of the lord endures forever.	19:19
	Praise the lord.	19:24
	(gentle music)	19:31
	♪ Never alone ♪	21:04
	♪ I don't have to worry 'cause ♪	21:08
	♪ I'm never alone ♪	21:10
	♪ Never alone ♪	21:18
	♪ I don't have to worry 'cause ♪	21:22
	♪ I'm never alone ♪	21:24
	♪ Never alone ♪	21:28
	♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪	21:29
	♪ He walks beside me ♪	21:31
	♪ All the way ♪	21:39
	♪ And he guides my footsteps, yes he does ♪	21:45
	♪ Each and every day ♪	21:52
	♪ That's why never ♪	21:56
	♪ Never alone ♪	21:59
	♪ I don't have to worry ♪	22:03
	♪ I don't have to worry ♪	22:04
	♪ Ooh. ♪	22:08
	♪ Never ♪	22:11
	♪ Never alone ♪	22:12
	♪ I don't have to worry ♪	22:16
	♪ I don't have to worry ♪	22:18
	♪ Never alone ♪	22:20
	♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪	22:23
	♪ He walks beside me ♪	22:25
	♪ All the way ♪	22:33
	♪ And he guides my footsteps, yes he does ♪	22:39
	♪ Each and every day ♪	22:46
	♪ That's why never again ♪	22:50
	♪ Never again ♪	22:53
	♪ Will I be insecure anymore ♪	22:55
	♪ I won't be insecure ♪	22:58
	♪ Ooh ♪	23:02
	♪ Never ♪	23:04
	♪ Never again ♪	23:06
	♪ Will I be insecure anymore ♪	23:09
	♪ I won't be insecure ♪	23:11
	♪ Never gain ♪	23:14
	♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪	23:16
	♪ He walks beside me, yes he does ♪	23:19
	♪ All the way ♪	23:26
	♪ And I'm so glad to know that he does ♪	23:29
	♪ He guides my footsteps ♪	23:32
	♪ Each and every day ♪	23:37
	♪ Oh, oh, ooh ♪	23:42
	♪ Never ♪	23:44
	♪ Never ♪	23:45
	♪ Will I ever be alone anymore, never ♪	23:47
	♪ Never ♪	23:52
	♪ Will I ever have to worry 'bout these ole problems, never ♪	23:54
	♪ Never ♪	23:58
	♪ Will I ever have to worry again, never ♪	24:00
	♪ Never ♪	24:05
	♪ Ooh ♪	24:08
	♪ Never ♪	24:11
	♪ Never ♪	24:12
	♪ Will I ever, ever, ever be alone ♪	24:13
	♪ Never ♪	24:17
	♪ Never ♪	24:18
	♪ Oh, because he walks ♪	24:21
	♪ He walks beside me ♪	24:24
	♪ All the way ♪	24:30
	♪ All the way ♪	24:32
	♪ And I'm so glad to know that he does ♪	24:34
	♪ He guides my footsteps ♪	24:38
	♪ Each and every day ♪	24:43
	♪ Every day. ♪	24:45
	♪ Never ♪	24:50
	♪ Never ♪	24:51
	♪ Will I ever have to worry about these ole problems, never ♪	24:53
	♪ Never ♪	24:57
	♪ Will I ever be alone, never ♪	24:59
	♪ Never ♪	25:04
	♪ Will I ever have to worry again, never ♪	25:06
	♪ Never ♪	25:10
	♪ Because he walks ♪	25:14
	♪ He walks beside me ♪	25:18
	♪ All the way ♪	25:22
	♪ All the way ♪	25:24
	♪ And I'm so glad to know the he does ♪	25:27
	♪ He guides my footsteps ♪	25:31
	♪ Every day ♪	25:35
	♪ Every day ♪	25:37
	♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪	25:40
	♪ Never ♪	25:42
	♪ Never alone ♪	25:44
	♪ I don't have to worry ♪	25:47
	♪ I don't have to worry ♪	25:48
	♪ Never alone ♪	25:50
	♪ Ooh ♪	25:52
	♪ Never ♪	25:54
	♪ Never alone ♪	25:56
	♪ I don't have to worry ♪	26:00
	♪ I don't have to worry ♪	26:01
	♪ Never alone ♪	26:04
	♪ Never ♪	26:08
	♪ Never alone ♪	26:10
	♪ I don't have to worry ♪	26:13
	♪ Never alone ♪	26:16
	♪ Never alone ♪	26:22
-	This evening's scripture	27:14
	will be read from the book of Isaiah	27:15
	chapter 55	27:17
	verses 6 through 13.	27:18
	Seek the Lord while he may be found;	27:23
	call on him while he is near.	27:26
	Let the wicked forsake his way	27:28
	and the unrighteous man, his thoughts.	27:30
	Let him turn to the Lord, that he may have mercy on him,	27:32
	and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.	27:36
	"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,	27:39
	"neither are your ways my ways,"	27:41
	said the Lord.	27:43
	"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,	27:44
	"so are my ways higher than your ways	27:46
	"and my thoughts than your thoughts.	27:48
	"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,	27:51
	"and return not thither, but water the earth,	27:53
	"making it bring forth and sprout,	27:56
	"giving see to the sower and bread for the eater,	27:57
	"so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth:	28:00
	"It will not return to me empty,	28:03
	"but will accomplish that which I purpose	28:05
	"and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.	28:07
	"For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace;	28:10
	"the mountains and hills before you	28:13
	"shall break into singing,	28:15
	"and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.	28:16
	"Instead of the thorns shall come up the cypress,	28:20
	"and instead of briars shall come up the myrtle	28:22
	"and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,	28:25
	"for an everlasting sign, which shall not be cut off."	28:27
-	Also, another chosen passage	28:39
	will come from the book of Jeremiah	28:41
	chapter 37, beginning with verse 16.	28:44
	When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells	28:49
	and remained there many days,	28:52
	King Zedekiah sent for him and received him.	28:54
	The king questioned him secretly in his house and said,	28:58
	"Is there any word from the Lord?"	29:01
	Jeremiah said, "There is."	29:04
	Then he said, "You shall be delivered	29:07
	"into the land of the king of Babylon."	29:09
	Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah,	29:12
	"What wrong have I done to you or your servants	29:14
	"or this people, that you have put me in prison?	29:17
	"Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying,	29:21
	"'The king of Babylon will not come against you	29:24
	"'and against this land'?	29:26
	"Now hear, I pray you, O my lord the king:	29:28
	"let my humble plea come before you	29:32
	"and do not send me back to	29:34
	"the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there."	29:36
	So King Zedekiah gave orders and they committed Jeremiah	29:40
	to the court of the guard.	29:43
	And a loaf of bread was given him daily	29:46
	from the bakers' street,	29:48
	until all the bread of the city was gone.	29:50
	So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.	29:53
-	Let us pray.	30:15
	As we come on this Good Friday	30:23
	in which we celebrate our lord's death,	30:29
	we too	30:34
	celebrate the death of one of our loved ones.	30:35
	Eternal God,	30:44
	the source and the giver of all life,	30:48
	wisdom and truth,	30:53
	we thank you for this day, as we honor	30:57
	one of the patriarchs of the faith,	30:59
	Martin Luther King	31:03
	Jr.	31:05
	and for the many other unsung heroes of the faith	31:08
	who gave their lives for the cause of justice	31:13
	and freedom	31:19
	and helping us to see what our world could be	31:22
	and what our people could become.	31:27
	We continue to pray that the goals and objectives	31:33
	they labored and died for	31:36
	will continue to guide and direct our efforts.	31:39
	Hear the prayers of our times, which come from souls	31:45
	torn and tossed be the ills of a world in rapid change.	31:48
	Although our flame of hope	31:55
	seems to be glimmering in a distance,	31:57
	we pray for faith and hope, in times of despair.	32:02
	For we know our road has been stormy,	32:09
	our circumstance here have been bitter,	32:13
	yet with a steady beat,	32:18
	may we be all challenged and prodded	32:21
	to join the mighty procession	32:24
	of those who gave their lives in love	32:27
	for the betterment of humanity everywhere.	32:29
	Help us, oh God, not to be satisfied	32:35
	with the mediocre crumbs that fall from the table	32:39
	or tokenism in a few places,	32:44
	but let us march on until every valley of justice	32:48
	shall be lifted up	32:52
	and every mountain and hill of racism,	32:55
	bigotry and discrimination	32:59
	be made low	33:03
	and the uneven ground shall become	33:06
	the level ground of righteousness	33:08
	and the rough places a plane of peace	33:12
	until truth	33:16
	joy	33:18
	and freedom	33:19
	shall be the song	33:22
	that all God's children can sing,	33:24
	until all God's children can walk together	33:28
	in unity	33:31
	and in fellowship.	33:34
	Now father we confess our sins before you.	33:38
	We're grateful, oh God,	33:52
	for the life of Martin Luther King Sr.	33:55
	and we pray, oh God, that his ministry	34:01
	will continue to impact our lives,	34:07
	give him strength,	34:11
	increase his wisdom and power	34:14
	and as he shares the message with us tonight,	34:18
	open our ears to hear it	34:22
	and touch our hearts	34:27
	to act upon it.	34:29
	In the name of the father,	34:32
	the son	34:34
	and the Holy Spirit.	34:36
	Amen.	34:38
	(gentle piano music)	34:51
	♪ I've had many tears and sorrows ♪	36:21
	♪ I've had questions for tomorrow ♪	36:26
	♪ There've been times I didn't know right from wrong ♪	36:30
	♪ But in every situation ♪	36:38
	♪ God gave blessed consolation ♪	36:42
	♪ That my trials come to only make me strong ♪	36:46
	♪ I've been to a lot of places ♪	36:56
	♪ And I've seen a lot of faces ♪	37:00
	♪ But there've been times ♪	37:04
	♪ I felt so all alone ♪	37:06
	♪ But in my lonely hours ♪	37:12
	♪ Yes, those precious lonely hours ♪	37:16
	♪ Jesus let me know ♪	37:20
	♪ That I was his own ♪	37:23
	♪ Through it all ♪	37:29
	♪ Through it all ♪	37:33
	♪ I've learned to trust in Jesus ♪	37:37
	♪ I've learned to trust in God ♪	37:41
	♪ Through it all ♪	37:45
	♪ Through it all ♪	37:49
	♪ I've learned to depend upon his word ♪	37:53
	♪ So I thank God for the mountains ♪	38:02
	♪ And I thank him for the valleys ♪	38:06
	♪ I thank him for the storms he's brought me through ♪	38:10
	♪ For if I never had a problem ♪	38:18
	♪ I'd never know that he could solve them ♪	38:23
	♪ I'd never know that faith in God could do ♪	38:27
	♪ Through it all ♪	38:35
	♪ Through it all ♪	38:38
	♪ I've learned to trust in Jesus ♪	38:42
	♪ I've learned to trust in God ♪	38:46
	♪ Through it all ♪	38:50
	♪ Through it all ♪	38:54
	♪ I've learned to depend upon his word ♪	38:58
	♪ Through it all ♪	39:06
	♪ I've learned to trust in Jesus ♪	39:14
	♪ I've learned to trust in God ♪	39:18
	♪ Through it all ♪	39:21
	♪ I've learned to depend upon his word ♪	39:30
	♪ Everybody sing through it all ♪	39:37
	♪ Through it all ♪	39:39
	♪ Through it all ♪	39:43
	♪ Oh, I've learned to trust him ♪	39:47
	♪ Learned to trust in God ♪	39:51
	♪ Through it all ♪	39:55
	♪ Through it all ♪	39:57
	♪ Through it all ♪	39:59
	♪ I've learned to depend upon his word ♪	40:01
	♪ Through it all ♪	40:11
	♪ Through it all ♪	40:14
	♪ Through it all ♪	40:15
	♪ I've learned to trust him ♪	40:19
	♪ Learned to trust in God ♪	40:23
	♪ Through it all ♪	40:25
	♪ I've learned to depend upon his word ♪	40:33
	♪ I've learned to depend upon his ♪	40:40
	♪ Word ♪	40:48
	(gentle piano music)	41:00
-	Before I say a word of introduction	41:51
	for Dr. Martin Luther King Sr.,	41:53
	let me say that we are honored	41:58
	to have another member of the King family here tonight,	42:00
	one of Dr. King's grandsons, Isaac Farris,	42:04
	who lives in Atlanta, has traveled with Dr. King.	42:09
	Isaac, would you stand,	42:13
	so that the congregation may see you?	42:14
	We're pleased to have you with your grandfather	42:17
	to share in the service with us tonight.	42:20
	A man whose life and influence	42:30
	surely has touch and shaped the lives of	42:36
	all of us	42:40
	and millions of others on the face of this earth	42:43
	and countless others who have been here	42:47
	during this century,	42:51
	Dr. Martin Luther King Sr.	42:55
	has been a preacher of the word for 63 years.	42:56
	He served one church for 45 years,	43:05
	Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta,	43:10
	where he continues to serve as minister emeritus	43:14
	to that	43:18
	congregation.	43:20
	I was asking Dr. King about that congregation	43:24
	this afternoon, as he and Lieutenant Dean and I	43:27
	drove back from the airport.	43:30
	When he went there as a young pastor,	43:33
	they had 170 members.	43:35
	When he retired 5 years ago, they had over 3,000 members.	43:38
	Not bad huh?	43:44
	He is a graduate of Morehouse College,	43:55
	one of many distinguished graduates from that school,	43:58
	many of whom are gathered here this night	44:03
	to worship with us.	44:06
	He has honorary degrees from many institutions	44:09
	around this country	44:12
	and again, with some questioning and prodding by me,	44:15
	this afternoon he told of an honor which he had received.	44:18
	One which, to my knowledge,	44:23
	not many Americans have received.	44:24
	Since last he preached here in Duke Chapel	44:28
	two and a half years ago, he was honored	44:30
	by receiving and honorary degree	44:33
	from an academy in Budapest, Hungary.	44:35
	I don't know of many Americans who have been so honored	44:40
	with an honorary degree	44:44
	from behind the Iron Curtain.	44:47
	So his influence has been felt,	44:52
	not only this in this country, but around the world.	44:54
	He said that he preached in many churches in Hungary,	44:59
	four of which have been named after	45:02
	Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.	45:05
	This night is a night in which we all gather	45:13
	here and in countless other places across this nation	45:18
	of or ours	45:22
	to remember the life and ministry	45:24
	of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,	45:26
	but we are privileged to have	45:32
	Dr. Martin Luther King Sr. With us here tonight,	45:34
	a man who has known tragedy and suffering and heartache,	45:40
	at least as I have thought about his life	45:45
	perhaps as very few of us, if any of us,	45:48
	have.	45:53
	The King family and the Kennedy family,	45:56
	perhaps more than any other one family,	45:58
	are the two families in this country	46:01
	have shared tragedy and heartache as no others.	46:05
	When I think of the King family,	46:12
	I think of that old spiritual	46:14
	Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen,	46:16
	Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen, Nobody Knows,	46:18
	but Jesus.	46:22
	And I think of the King family	46:26
	and of Dr. King Sr. in particular,	46:27
	but as a think of him, I think also	46:30
	no one lives and witnesses to faith in Christ	46:36
	in the way that any of us has seen as does he.	46:41
	I never will forget how he began his last sermon here.	46:50
	And if I'm stealing the thunder	46:55
	for the way he'll begin tonight,	46:57
	he'll have to pardon me.	46:58
	He stood in the pulpit there, looked around the congregation	47:02
	and if my memory serves me correctly,	47:06
	he began by saying, "I stand before you this morning	47:08
	"brothers and sisters, to tell you	47:13
	"and to tell all others	47:16
	"that I hold hatred in my heart	47:19
	"for no other man."	47:24
	The love of God,	47:31
	the spirit of God,	47:34
	the compassion of Christ,	47:37
	the forgiveness which our lord calls all of us to show	47:40
	all manifest in the great, great man.	47:44
	Valdasia Merrick will sing in a few minutes	47:52
	and if you haven't heard Valdasia sing,	47:55
	we'll all be lifted to the throne of God's love and grace,	47:56
	as she sings for us.	47:59
	She will sing a tribute to the King family	48:04
	and then Dr. King will preach the word of God for us	48:10
	on this	48:13
	very meaningful occasion.	48:15
	Dr. King, we are honored by your presence.	48:19
	We welcome you again to	48:23
	Duke University and to Duke Chapel.	48:25
	And on this particular occasion,	48:31
	we feel a very special honor	48:34
	that you have chosen to be among us.	48:35
	My friends in Christ, will you stand and greet with me	48:38
	Dr. Martin Luther King Sr.	48:41
	(crowd applauding)	48:43
	♪ He was born on Sunday morning ♪	49:43
	♪ To carry on, carry on ♪	49:47
	♪ It was like a ray of sunshine ♪	49:54
	♪ Come the dawn ♪	49:59
	♪ Come the dawn ♪	50:01
	♪ And I looked at him and I smiled ♪	50:06
	♪ When I realized this child had come into the world ♪	50:10
	♪ Carry on ♪	50:23
	♪ La, la, la, la, la ♪	50:29
	♪ Mmmmmmmmmm ♪	50:36
	♪ Well, soon his eyes were open ♪	50:41
	♪ Oh, so wide ♪	50:45
	♪ Very wide ♪	50:47
	♪ And with just one look ♪	50:50
	♪ I knew that God was on his side ♪	50:51
	♪ And as he grew ♪	50:59
	♪ I gave him all the love I had inside ♪	51:01
	♪ And I hoped that he would use it ♪	51:09
	♪ As his guide ♪	51:12
	♪ As his guide ♪	51:15
	♪ And I know they'll always be somebody watching over you ♪	51:19
	♪ And mama may have ♪	51:28
	♪ And your papa may have ♪	51:32
	♪ And I know you've got it too ♪	51:35
	♪ He said, "Mama, don't you worry ♪	51:39
	♪ "I've got love in my heart ♪	51:43
	♪ "You know it's always with me from the start ♪	51:50
	♪ "From the start ♪	51:56
	♪ "And I know there'll always be somebody watching over me" ♪	52:01
	♪ And my mama may have ♪	52:10
	♪ And my papa may have ♪	52:13
	♪ And I got what it takes to be free ♪	52:17
	♪ He said, "Mama, don't you worry ♪	52:22
	♪ "I've had love since I was born" ♪	52:27
	♪ Martin come into the world ♪	52:35
	♪ And carried on ♪	52:40
	♪ He had to carry on ♪	52:43
	♪ He came into the world ♪	52:50
	♪ And carried on ♪	52:56
	♪ Ooh ♪	53:13
	(congregation applauding)	53:20
	(congregation applauding)	53:27
-	Thank you.	53:38
	I would like	53:45
	for you now to;	53:49
	and there should not be anybody in here tonight,	53:53
	no matter where you're from	53:58
	or where you're going or	54:02
	to what denomination to which you belong;	54:06
	I don't think anybody would not know this hymn	54:12
	that I wanna play a few verses	54:16
	this evening	54:22
	and I want you to sit there for the moment.	54:26
	God would like to speak to you	54:31
	and to me and to all of us,	54:33
	but we are so often busy.	54:38
	Just busy.	54:43
	And as we continue to be busy	54:48
	and I'm afraid not spending enough time	54:54
	listen to God,	54:59
	we find ourselves in a dilemma,	55:03
	in a quandary	55:10
	and we're trying to walk our way through	55:16
	without listening too much to God,	55:21
	I think.	55:26
	In this invitation that	55:31
	you have extended to me tonight to	55:36
	speak to you, you have it written here, "a sermon".	55:42
	That means church.	55:49
	I've been doing it long enough to know	55:58
	what it is and what it means.	56:00
	So I want you to walk around these words:	56:05
	amazing grace.	56:09
	That'll get you home, you know.	56:14
	I want you to pull out the swells	56:23
	and move away the stops	56:27
	and let the instruments speak now	56:32
	and you sit there	56:40
	and listen.	56:45
	God's trying to speak to you.	56:49
	It's amazing, you know,	56:54
	that you made it out here tonight.	57:00
	Some good folks.	57:08
	Some religious	57:14
	folk	57:18
	would like to have been here tonight,	57:21
	but are unable.	57:25
	Lord help me.	57:30
	They're upon beds of afflictions.	57:35
	Some are in hospitals	57:39
	and right now, right now, some are crossing over	57:46
	going on home.	57:52
	You know, we're not home yet.	57:57
	We've still got to go home.	58:02
	The question may be asked	58:15
	how did you get here anyhow.	58:19
	Who brought you?	58:25
	How did I get here?	58:33
	As God carried me through the friendly skies.	58:45
	Lord help me.	58:51
	When I had to do what I do all the time,	58:58
	when I get up there I up,	59:01
	God has to take over.	59:07
	How did you get here?	59:10
	Lord helped.	59:18
	It was grace that brought me safe thus far	59:23
	and grace	59:31
	and grace	59:33
	will lead me home.	59:38
	♪ Ama ... ♪	59:42
	I want you to sing it everywhere.	59:47
	How sweet.	59:53
	♪ How sweet the sound. ♪	59:54
-	Not into it.	59:58
	They don't know where it is.	59:59
-	92 in your hymnal.	1:00:03
	92.	1:00:06
	♪ A wretch ♪	1:00:08
	Like me.	1:00:10
	♪ Like me ♪	1:00:12
	♪ I once ♪	1:00:16
	♪ Was lost ♪	1:00:21
	♪ But now I'm found ♪	1:00:25
	♪ Was blind, but now I see ♪	1:00:34
	Glory to God.	1:00:42
	I want you to close your mouths everywhere.	1:00:47
	70 odd years ago, I was there,	1:00:54
	old enough	1:00:59
	to sing with them back there.	1:01:01
	Lord help me.	1:01:05
	And that old deacon had no formal training at all,	1:01:09
	but he could raise that old hymn.	1:01:14
	We didn't have no piano, didn't have no organ.	1:01:16
	Music was in our throats;	1:01:20
	Lord help me;	1:01:23
	but our old deacon would get out and walk	1:01:27
	the aisles in our little church and	1:01:30
	tell us, "I want you to sing it now chillens,	1:01:34
	"we going home."	1:01:38
	He's already gone many years ago,	1:01:42
	but at the at end he said, "Now chillens,	1:01:45
	"I want you to moan it."	1:01:48
	We've kinda dressed it up now.	1:01:52
	We say, "I want you hum it." Same thing ...	1:01:58
	(congregation laughing)	1:02:01
	in a dressed up fashion.	1:02:04
	So I just want you to close your mouths now.	1:02:07
	You lift up the instrument	1:02:09
	as we hum it.	1:02:12
	(congregation humming Amazing Grace)	1:02:15
	Come on, come on.	1:02:22
	(congregation humming Amazing Grace)	1:02:25
	Lord help me.	1:02:44
	I want you shake hands now with your neighbor.	1:02:57
	Everybody, everybody shake hands with your neighbor.	1:03:01
	Tell God that you're blind.	1:03:07
	You're going on home.	1:03:25
	(congregation humming Amazing Grace)	1:03:31
	Yes Lord.	1:03:51
	Yes Lord.	1:03:55
	(congregation humming Amazing Grace)	1:03:58
	Thank you very much.	1:04:25
	There's so many folks to address here	1:04:34
	and I'm not gonna take time	1:04:39
	to do all of this	1:04:42
	addressing to you tonight,	1:04:47
	but I want to thank a friend that I met here some	1:04:52
	two and a half years ago	1:04:58
	and when I met him, I learned to	1:05:02
	have a deep admiration for him.	1:05:07
	He did so much to make my visit here	1:05:12
	a rewarding and enjoyable one	1:05:16
	and I wanna thank my good friend and brother	1:05:24
	Young, for this general introduction of me.	1:05:30
	(coughing in background)	1:05:36
	Sounds good.	1:05:38
	And when you get my age, you	1:05:44
	thank God for any nice thing	1:05:47
	anybody may say about you.	1:05:50
	I told you, when I was here before,	1:06:00
	that I was not old, I was getting older.	1:06:04
	I'm still not old, but getting older,	1:06:09
	but I know that I am older than I look.	1:06:15
	I don't look as old as I am	1:06:24
	and I know why.	1:06:30
	You could too.	1:06:34
	You just getting old too fast.	1:06:36
	If you take that step with me and come on and go	1:06:40
	and refuse to stoop low enough to hate anybody,	1:06:45
	not carrying ill will in your heart against anybody.	1:06:51
	I do not.	1:06:55
	I refuse to hate anybody.	1:06:58
	If anybody could hate,	1:07:03
	I could stand at the head of the list,	1:07:05
	but I know what hate can do for you.	1:07:08
	As a result of hate, I don't have that young man,	1:07:13
	my namesake,	1:07:17
	with me in this world now.	1:07:20
	It was hate	1:07:24
	that killed my son Martin.	1:07:28
	It was hate that	1:07:33
	caused my youngest son, both of whom were preachers,	1:07:36
	to be drowned.	1:07:42
	I'm not gonna hate.	1:07:46
	And then after a few years, when we were	1:07:49
	trying to go on and live it out and live together,	1:07:52
	a little lady that I married	1:07:58
	and lived together	1:08:00
	48 happy years.	1:08:03
	That fella came into church and shot my wife	1:08:13
	playing the organ,	1:08:18
	The Lord's Prayer.	1:08:22
	That hurts. All of this hurts,	1:08:26
	but I'm not gonna hate them.	1:08:31
	But I tell you what I made up in my mind that I'm gonna do.	1:08:35
	I'm going on and see	1:08:39
	what the end's gonna be for all of this.	1:08:42
	This is not the end.	1:08:51
	People invite me.	1:09:00
	And I'm honest with you, much of it I don't accept.	1:09:04
	I don't want this sad thing tonight.	1:09:09
	I don't wanna keep on perpetuating	1:09:14
	the assassination	1:09:19
	of Martin Luther King Jr.	1:09:21
	If you're gonna make it sad, don't invite me.	1:09:25
	I don't want that.	1:09:33
	I don't need it. I've had enough of it, enough of it.	1:09:35
	I miss him.	1:09:45
	I'm lonesome in a crowd many times	1:09:48
	and I get some inspiration	1:09:55
	sometimes, a lot of times.	1:09:58
	I see these pretty girls going down to sing	1:10:04
	and see you out there.	1:10:08
	They can't kill you for that, you know.	1:10:11
	(congregation laughing)	1:10:14
	It gives me inspiration.	1:10:18
	Ain't nobody can kill you for looking.	1:10:24
	(congregation laughing)	1:10:28
	Ain't no sin in	1:10:31
	worship.	1:10:34
	(congregation laughing and applauding)	1:10:36
	So by these things men live.	1:10:48
	(congregation laughing)	1:10:52
	That	1:11:00
	little fellow, young man, little boy;	1:11:03
	one day kept saying to his mother,	1:11:06
	"Mother",	1:11:08
	little did I know as he followed around with me	1:11:10
	and listened to the differences we had	1:11:13
	with people and that day, that awful segregated hour	1:11:19
	and he'd go back home and said,	1:11:25
	"Mother Del, when I get to be a man,	1:11:28
	"I'm gonna turn this world upside down."	1:11:31
	And his mother would say to him,	1:11:36
	"How you gonna do this by yourself?"	1:11:39
	"I'm gonna get the people,	1:11:43
	"the people of the world to look at it with me."	1:11:47
	That little boy kept saying that.	1:11:51
	He said, "First	1:11:59
	"I'm going to school and I'm going to	1:12:01
	"get all the training I can.	1:12:06
	"I'm gonna be prepared	1:12:11
	"to meet it."	1:12:15
	You know that little fella did that?	1:12:17
	That little fella Martin Luther King Jr. did that.	1:12:20
	He kept saying it to me and I paid no attention	1:12:29
	and I regret that I didn't.	1:12:32
	He said, "Daddy, if you let me board in school,	1:12:35
	"I'll finish top man of my class.	1:12:39
	"I need to be where I can study	1:12:47
	"and get away from these things	1:12:49
	"that stand in my way." I wouldn't listen.	1:12:51
	He did finish Morehouse College with honors,	1:12:57
	but that wasn't enough.	1:13:00
	And when he was through he said, "You know,	1:13:02
	"Daddy, I wanna go to an all white seminary."	1:13:06
	I said, "All right, pick your seminary."	1:13:15
	He said, "I wanna go to a white seminary	1:13:19
	"and prove that all black folks	1:13:23
	"are not dumb."	1:13:26
	Do you know he went to Crozer Seminary	1:13:31
	and finished the top man of his class,	1:13:34
	walked away with all the honors and the awards	1:13:38
	and then all of that commencement.	1:13:41
	They gave him a scholarship	1:13:45
	to Boston University, to take his Doctorate	1:13:48
	and I had promised, my wife and I, when he finish	1:13:54
	Crozer we would give him and automobile and we did	1:13:59
	and when he drove that car, little car,	1:14:06
	up on the campus at Boston University,	1:14:09
	they began to check and double check	1:14:14
	and do you know they didn't pay	1:14:18
	one dime of that scholarship,	1:14:20
	never?	1:14:24
	Just kept saying that the money didn't come through	1:14:26
	or some excuse	1:14:29
	and frustrated my child death.	1:14:31
	And he wrote me and said they guess he'd have to come home.	1:14:35
	"I said what's happening?"	1:14:39
	He told me and I said, "Oh no you don't.	1:14:40
	"You just ...	1:14:42
	"You just figure and be sure you're sure	1:14:44
	"and tell me what you need monthly to stay there,	1:14:47
	"tuition and everything	1:14:51
	"and I'll see that that money will be there every month,	1:14:54
	"every minute on time."	1:14:58
	God had blessed me to do that, you know.	1:15:02
	I did it	1:15:06
	and he finished Boston University.	1:15:10
	His senior professor said	1:15:13
	that he had not had a mind that came through there	1:15:23
	that was at	1:15:30
	the proportion that Martin Luther King Jr. was.	1:15:32
	That man	1:15:37
	became his closest friend, until he went home.	1:15:39
	He's a scholar and he's still living.	1:15:43
	That young man made true his statement	1:15:46
	and I'm saying to you young people,	1:15:50
	don't take no for the answer.	1:15:55
	If others did, you can do it if you will.	1:15:58
	And some of his classmates would get angry with him.	1:16:08
	They'd go in his room when he's getting his lesson,	1:16:12
	writing the papers and getting his lesson	1:16:16
	and they said, "You know, man,	1:16:18
	"this professor's setting it hard.	1:16:21
	"He just kills us with all this work."	1:16:24
	They was in his room telling him	1:16:29
	and he'd get tired, because he didn't	1:16:31
	wanna stop getting his lesson.	1:16:33
	He said, "Boys, let's go to your rooms	1:16:35
	"and get the man's stuff and stop worrying about	1:16:38
	"how hard it is."	1:16:41
	He did it.	1:16:47
	He did that and he came on out	1:16:50
	and think you'll have to go with that.	1:16:53
	That young man did turn this world upside down.	1:16:55
	I don't know what would have happened.	1:17:04
	Maybe God would have had someone else.	1:17:07
	I just don't know, but I know what we were before then.	1:17:08
	Maybe if we hadn't have had a Martin Luther King Jr.	1:17:13
	to come along, we might be riding on segregated buses	1:17:16
	and	1:17:19
	eating at segregated counter,	1:17:22
	eating places.	1:17:26
	Though that young man came along	1:17:33
	with that kind of philosophy.	1:17:34
	You could go to New York or anywhere	1:17:37
	and you couldn't get reservations in a white hotel.	1:17:40
	Some of you sitting here tonight's	1:17:48
	old enough to know this to be true.	1:17:49
	But that young man turned it upside down	1:17:55
	and opened the doors of every hotel	1:17:57
	and every eating counter.	1:18:00
	He did that and he was working, when he lost his life,	1:18:05
	he was working to improve on the income	1:18:09
	of poor and forgotten people	1:18:13
	and we having trouble right there right now, you know.	1:18:16
	Ain't no trouble checking in a hotel anywhere.	1:18:20
	You can check in, but my God,	1:18:24
	checking out is what kills you.	1:18:26
	(congregation laughing)	1:18:28
	We've come a long way, but my God	1:18:39
	we've got a long way to go.	1:18:41
	I have a deep admiration for	1:18:45
	these fraternal societies, sororities, what have you.	1:18:48
	Don't criticize unless you're sure	1:18:53
	you know what is happening.	1:18:55
	These fraternal societies,	1:19:00
	sororities	1:19:03
	have been responsible for children getting through college	1:19:06
	that would have never gotten through, never	1:19:08
	and they're still at it.	1:19:12
	I see at the bottom of this,	1:19:14
	somewhere I read where this said	1:19:15
	the funds that will be raised;	1:19:19
	and you oughta give good in this collection tonight;	1:19:22
	somewhere on here I read where it says	1:19:26
	it will go toward a scholarship	1:19:29
	effort	1:19:34
	to some universities.	1:19:36
	Yes, most of them like to drink a lot,	1:19:40
	but they always manage to save lots of something.	1:19:46
	So as a Baptist preacher for all these years,	1:19:51
	I don't drink.	1:19:54
	You don't have to believe it, if you wanna.	1:19:55
	It doesn't matter. I don't.	1:19:57
	But I say as long as they give freely	1:20:01
	as they do for different causes,	1:20:05
	let them take a little drink every now and then.	1:20:08
	(congregation laughing)	1:20:12
	(coughing)	1:20:13
	Yes, they like to dance. I can't dance,	1:20:15
	but let them dance,	1:20:22
	if they can take time out	1:20:27
	to gather together funds.	1:20:31
	They've made contributions	1:20:34
	to Martin Luther King's Center for Social Change.	1:20:39
	This is great; this is helpful.	1:20:46
	When you come to Atlanta and see what we're doing	1:20:52
	at Martin Luther King's Center for Social Change,	1:20:56
	you'll see	1:21:00
	whatever you've given	1:21:02
	and what is happening to it and where we are.	1:21:04
	Are you listening?	1:21:10
	If I'm preaching or speaking or whatever you wanna call it,	1:21:14
	I'll end up preaching anyway, but I never stop ...	1:21:18
	When I take a text or take a subject,	1:21:20
	I never stop to ask you to say amen.	1:21:23
	I can't do that.	1:21:27
	Help me somebody. Ain't you gonna pray with me.	1:21:30
	I wished I had a praying church.	1:21:33
	(congregation laughing)	1:21:35
	I can't do that,	1:21:37
	but I don't criticize those who do.	1:21:39
	If that's the way they do it, all right with me.	1:21:41
	I don't criticize it.	1:21:43
	They got a thing going around that bothers me,	1:21:46
	but I ain't gonna criticize.	1:21:48
	When a preacher gets up, "Say amen.	1:21:50
	"Say amen again. "Say amen again."	1:21:53
	That's too much of my strength and ...	1:21:56
	(congregation laughing)	1:21:59
	I'd rather be taking my text trying to go on and preach	1:22:02
	and not waste all that energy begging for amen.	1:22:07
	(congregation laughing)	1:22:12
	I can't do it. Others can do, all right,	1:22:15
	but I'm not,	1:22:20
	but I will raise a question with you all along	1:22:22
	through my message, by simply asking are you listening.	1:22:25
	That's important.	1:22:31
	If you won't listen	1:22:33
	then I wasted time to fly up here	1:22:37
	to talk to you tonight,	1:22:39
	because I can't communicate.	1:22:42
	But if you listen, we gonna get together	1:22:44
	somewhere along the way.	1:22:46
	I see a very pretty girl out there. She's pretty	1:22:51
	and she's listening and I'm glad of that.	1:22:57
	And I see others of y'all all around listening.	1:23:03
	A man said to me on the way over here somewhere,	1:23:07
	he said, "I'm coming out to hear you speak,	1:23:10
	"to hear what you're gonna say."	1:23:13
	I said, "I'm not gonna say much."	1:23:15
	He said, "I can't believe that,	1:23:17
	"but whatever it is, I'm coming to hear."	1:23:19
	Maybe, just maybe I haven't done too bad,	1:23:23
	to come from where I've come from	1:23:28
	and arrive where I have arrived.	1:23:32
	I came from Chitlin Switch,	1:23:38
	the bottom, below the bottom of the country.	1:23:44
	Couldn't go to school but two or three months	1:23:48
	of the whole year	1:23:51
	and when I went to school my teacher might have been	1:23:54
	a second grade pupil, I don't know. I knew one thing.	1:23:58
	I didn't know what I know she didn't know	1:24:01
	and that's what I had to make out with.	1:24:07
	When I left and put down that plow	1:24:10
	and decided that I'd plow no more mules,	1:24:13
	because I had been given a mule complex;	1:24:16
	I was a big, good sized boy.	1:24:25
	I didn't know a verb from a cat.	1:24:31
	Grown man when I went to college with a full background	1:24:37
	and the man that didn't want me to get in	1:24:43
	and did everything he could to keep me out	1:24:44
	said I've got to go back	1:24:47
	and take another year in high school and all of that,	1:24:48
	I became his boss, before it was all over.	1:24:51
	You never know, you know.	1:24:58
	But you know what I was determined to do?	1:25:03
	And when I saw that little lady	1:25:05
	that I lived with 48 years	1:25:07
	and said to some of my schoolmates,	1:25:09
	"That's gonna be my wife."	1:25:13
	"Oh, she wouldn't spit on you."	1:25:14
	(congregation laughing)	1:25:16
	"It's ridiculous, you talking about	1:25:21
	"you gonna marry this preacher's daughter."	1:25:23
	He didn't have but one daughter.	1:25:27
	I said, "I don't care what you say.	1:25:29
	"That's gonna be my wife."	1:25:31
	And I kept on plugging away.	1:25:35
	I'm saying all this to tell you young folk	1:25:38
	you can if you will.	1:25:40
	That's what I'm trying to get you to see.	1:25:40
	I went on and those fellows that criticized my	1:25:43
	grammar and criticized my verbs,	1:25:48
	I went on and got them verbs straight.	1:25:53
	(congregation laughing and applauding)	1:25:57
	And I tell you If I had to crack a verb,	1:26:07
	I usually know when I did and I worked my way around	1:26:11
	to come back with that sentence again	1:26:14
	to let you know I do know.	1:26:16
	(congregation laughing)	1:26:21
	That's a true saying, more in the man than in the land.	1:26:24
	I married that lady and I said to them,	1:26:29
	"Another thing, and I bet you when we go walking	1:26:32
	"up or down the street, you will never say,	1:26:34
	"'There comes Mrs. and	1:26:37
	Reverend Martin Luther King.'	1:26:42
	"I bet you won't say it.	1:26:45
	"I'm betting you'll say,	1:26:48
	"'There comes Reverend and Mrs. King.'"	1:26:49
	That same lady said they said wouldn't spit on me,	1:26:53
	I became her husband and I've heard her say it many times	1:26:58
	before she was taken away from me that she'd call and say,	1:27:02
	"I'm Mrs. Martin Luther King Sr."	1:27:06
	Glory to God.	1:27:11
	It can be, you know.	1:27:13
	So I've gotten all that straight	1:27:17
	and those folks that said I wasn't gonna make it,	1:27:19
	most of them never made it yet.	1:27:22
	Some of them's going on home to heaven hope,	1:27:26
	but they never did make it.	1:27:29
	I've gone about as far as preaching can carry you.	1:27:31
	Are you listening. That ain't boasting.	1:27:38
	I'd have to have something on the ball	1:27:45
	to come to Duke University Chapel.	1:27:47
	(congregation laughing and applauding)	1:27:50
	Issac, you got the time piece.	1:28:00
	Where is Issac?	1:28:02
-	Right here.	1:28:03
-	Are you awake? You got a timepiece?	1:28:04
	He ain't gonna do it. You got a watch?	1:28:07
	All right. Isaac, take my watch.	1:28:11
	It's not 10 minutes.	1:28:14
	Nah, it's just 9-3.	1:28:16
	That right?	1:28:20
	Hand him my watch.	1:28:22
	Isaac, when I've I've talked a quarter past that,	1:28:25
	you stand straight up.	1:28:29
-	What about over here with the watch?	1:28:32
-	That'll be messed up man.	1:28:34
	(laughing)	1:28:36
-	I'm gonna give him my watch.	1:28:39
-	All right. That's good enough.	1:28:40
	Tell him to be sure not to keep it.	1:28:42
	Listen. Are you listening?	1:28:44
	Despite all that I've said	1:28:47
	and the other words that I'm gonna say in the next	1:28:49
	15 minutes thereabout,	1:28:53
	I'm gonna raise this with you.	1:28:58
	I think I'm gonna talk about this on Easter morning,	1:29:02
	this coming Sunday.	1:29:07
	You heard orators,	1:29:10
	you've heard teachers,	1:29:15
	you've heard preachers,	1:29:18
	you've heard diplomats,	1:29:21
	you've either heard or read about them,	1:29:24
	but isn't it time to stop right now and ask	1:29:27
	is there any word from the lord.	1:29:30
	We get in our pretty clothes	1:29:35
	and it's nice to look nice, nice to look good,	1:29:38
	making the merchant rich and we are poor.	1:29:42
	Just stop a minute. Is that a word from the lord?	1:29:47
	Shouldn't that question be raised in Iran tonight	1:29:56
	and in these other	1:30:00
	troubled spots across our world?	1:30:02
	Is that a word from the lord?	1:30:06
	All this looting and killing and stealing and robbing,	1:30:09
	is that a word from the lord about this?	1:30:15
	Or are we trying to go on and run it ourselves	1:30:20
	and we run it into a mess?	1:30:23
	Nobody's life is safe today.	1:30:27
	All you can do as you sit there now	1:30:34
	and hope that you can get home all right.	1:30:37
	Where you live, I mean, down here.	1:30:39
	Lord help me.	1:30:43
	So I'm gonna raise	1:30:46
	this question with you	1:30:48
	slower than the book itself:	1:30:50
	if thou be the son of God	1:30:53
	come down from the cross.	1:30:56
	If though be the son of God	1:31:00
	come down from the cross.	1:31:03
	The devil's saying that to you every day.	1:31:07
	If you be what you say you are and you be	1:31:11
	a student at Duke University,	1:31:16
	whatever field you're in,	1:31:21
	if you really be what you call yourself,	1:31:26
	come on down and have a good time.	1:31:29
	Come on down	1:31:33
	from that lofty standing	1:31:37
	you're doing.	1:31:41
	Stop trying to go along and really be	1:31:45
	the finest person that walked. Come down!	1:31:52
	You know what that subject leads me to say to you tonight?	1:32:00
	I'm glad he didn't come down.	1:32:05
	If he had of come down, we'd have had no Easter.	1:32:10
	We'd have had no Palm Sunday.	1:32:15
	We'd have no Good Friday,	1:32:19
	if he had have come down.	1:32:22
	I'm glad he didn't come down.	1:32:27
	And that little young man	1:32:34
	I been talking to you about tonight, it hurts,	1:32:35
	I'm hurt, I'm stunned, I'm bothered,	1:32:40
	I'm worried, but I'm glad Martin Luther King Jr.	1:32:42
	didn't come down that first night in Montgomery, Alabama,	1:32:47
	when they hauled him around for two hours	1:32:51
	deciding whether they gonna do what they always had done,	1:32:54
	kill him.	1:32:57
	Had his hands chained,	1:33:02
	had his legs chained in the back seat of that car	1:33:03
	and those two ungodly police,	1:33:07
	finally one said,	1:33:14
	"Nigger,	1:33:17
	"If you'll go home and go away from here,	1:33:19
	"we'll take you across the line.	1:33:22
	"We won't put you in jail.	1:33:25
	"You just go on away from here."	1:33:28
	And that young man with those chains all around him	1:33:31
	and the other one say, "Are you going? "Are you going?"	1:33:36
	He said, "Gentlemen, I must be as honest with you as I can.	1:33:42
	"I can't afford to desert	1:33:47
	or to deny or fail these people	1:33:52
	"who elected me to speak for them!	1:33:55
	"I can't do it!"	1:33:58
	And that young man finally said, "I'd rather die	1:34:02
	"than to fool these people."	1:34:07
	Do you know that young man touched their hearts,	1:34:11
	those men and one of them said, "Looky here.	1:34:16
	"Let's take this nigger on to jail.	1:34:19
	"This is funny, peculiar nigger.	1:34:21
	"We've never had a nigger	1:34:26
	"in our hands like this negro.	1:34:30
	"There's something funny, there's something peculiar about	1:34:32
	"him.	1:34:37
	"Let's take him on to jail."	1:34:38
	I'm glad	1:34:42
	that night,	1:34:44
	if he had accepted going across that line,	1:34:46
	back into Georgia, give up,	1:34:50
	just as afraid as I can be	1:34:57
	that we would still be segregated.	1:34:59
	I'm glad he didn't down that night.	1:35:03
	I'm glad	1:35:09
	that little lady who was a seamstress	1:35:13
	earning a living making clothes,	1:35:16
	when she refused to get up	1:35:19
	when a white man asked her to get up and give him that seat.	1:35:23
	She refused to get up.	1:35:27
	They put her in jail,	1:35:29
	but I'm glad she didn't get up.	1:35:32
	Are you listening.	1:35:38
	Glad she kept that seat.	1:35:42
	And she must have been sitting there for you and for me,	1:35:46
	all of us, white and black alike too.	1:35:50
	You know, some white folks wanted freedom,	1:35:53
	but they're scared to speak out.	1:35:55
	They'd kill them, you know.	1:35:58
	But they wanted a way out	1:36:01
	and they'd proven that they wanted a way out.	1:36:06
	As a result of that little fella Martin Luther King Jr.	1:36:10
	who wouldn't come down, we've got black mayors, mayors.	1:36:14
	Some of those larger cities in America gladly ...	1:36:23
	I'm glad. I'm glad. I'm glad.	1:36:28
	I'm glad he didn't come down.	1:36:30
	I'm afraid we wouldn't have	1:36:35
	hundreds and hundreds of black officials.	1:36:39
	And we've got more men in Mississippi than any other state.	1:36:42
	Did you know that?	1:36:45
	We've got more black elected officials in Mississippi	1:36:48
	than anywhere else.	1:36:53
	Do you know in Birmingham; and we had to	1:36:54
	change it to bumin, Buminham;	1:36:58
	do you know Birmingham	1:37:04
	has a black man mayor of that city today.	1:37:06
	And what am I trying to say to you?	1:37:11
	Couldn't have been that,	1:37:13
	if some white folks hadn't got tired of this mess.	1:37:14
	They had to elect them, you know.	1:37:17
	Don't you go around here in this school	1:37:20
	turning up your face against whites.	1:37:23
	They're helping us through here;	1:37:28
	don't let nobody fool you;	1:37:30
	those whose hearts are right.	1:37:31
	They're standing with us. They're taking that.	1:37:35

	(audience laughing)	0:04
-	When they had just a little segment of blacks,	0:08
	Methodists and white folks decided they tired of that	0:13
	and pulled that thing together and made it a one thing:	0:18
	United Methodist.	0:22
	Now, what do we have? What do we have?	0:25
	Black bishops presiding over predominantly	0:31
	white congregations.	0:36
	Are you listening?	0:39
	That's come a long way, brother.	0:42
	That's coming a long ways from where we used to be.	0:45
	I know when it wasn't.	0:49
	That's why I don't have, one of the reasons	0:53
	I don't have no hangup in denomination.	0:54
	I, when I found out, as a boy, I had to preach.	1:00
	I began to look around in my little community.	1:03
	That was Baptist, and my mama was a Baptist	1:09
	and our little Baptist church,	1:12
	and there was a Methodist, M-E they called it then.	1:14
	And there was a little Presbyterian not far away,	1:19
	and we went and visited all of them, you know,	1:22
	and I was making my choice, which kind of preacher	1:25
	did I want to be?	1:27
	And I was leaning, boy do you know I was leaning	1:29
	toward the Methodist church?	1:31
	Because they, you know, the preachers were appointed,	1:36
	and I know you had to be called to be a Baptist.	1:39
	(congregation laughing and applauding)	1:42
	And they had a meeting, they had a meeting,	1:50
	and the bishop, he was white,	1:52
	they had a meeting in that little town,	1:54
	and the white bishop came down,	1:56
	and they had, getting up to report,	1:58
	an old poor preacher, little black, poor preacher.	2:00
	The bishop called for his report, he said,	2:05
	"Bishop, I don't quite have it ready.	2:07
	"I'll have it ready in the morning."	2:09
	"I said give me that report now!"	2:11
	The bishop, "Don't talk back to me!"	2:15
	And I said "To hell with the Methodists..."	2:18
	(audience laughing)	2:20
	I said "The only way I'd be a Methodist,	2:27
	I'd have to be the bishop." (audience laughing)	2:29
	Lord help me! (coughing)	2:39
	I went to the presbyterian, they didn't have no folks,	2:43
	can't be that (audience laughing), weren't nobody there.	2:46
	So I said the best thing for me to do	2:53
	with all the misgivings a Baptist has,	2:55
	it's gonna give me the kind of freedom my soul must have,	2:59
	so I'm going on to be a Baptist preacher.	3:02
	Lord help me... (audience laughter)	3:06
	It isn't what I'd like for it to be,	3:09
	but despite of all its misgivings,	3:12
	it offers me the kind of freedom I must have for my soul.	3:14
	Ain't no bishop over me.	3:22
	Ain't nothing nobody could do to me,	3:29
	except to get that congregation to get against me.	3:31
	Now if they move that congregation against me	3:34
	I'll have to go cause they'll vote me out.	3:36
	But as long as I've got them in my hand,	3:38
	and I always kept 'em in my hand (audience laughing)	3:40
	I had a voice-- what time is it, what time is it, son?	3:46
	(audience laughing) Tell me now, I'm getting warmed up	3:53
	and I don't wanna go too far. (audience laughing)	3:56
	I wished I could but time ain't gonna let us.	4:02
	I ain't gonna miss this flight tonight.	4:05
	I've gotta get back to Atlanta	4:07
	and get out the morning, 9:00,	4:08
	but let me say this in closing.	4:10
	I wanna close with a little story.	4:15
	Good to have been with you tonight.	4:18
	I hope in this practical way that I've spoken to you	4:21
	that you might have got something-- that's dead ain't it?	4:25
	I hope you might have got something	4:31
	out of this very practical message	4:34
	I've tried to bring you tonight	4:37
	to give you a sense of belonging,	4:40
	a sense of lift, a sense of somebody-ness,	4:43
	a sense of belonging, a sense that you count too,	4:50
	no matter what your skin color may be.	4:55
	I'm proud of me and I hope you're proud of you!	4:59
	I think God was at his best when he made me.	5:04
	And I'm satisfied if I had any word to have said	5:09
	there ain't nothing I could've said cause I wasn't there	5:13
	in the making, but I like everything about me	5:17
	except my feet... (audience chuckling)	5:22
	My feet's not large enough for my body to carry the load,	5:25
	and I told 'em to have made my feet larger.	5:30
	So as a result, my feet burn carrying this hard load	5:35
	that it has to carry, but that's alright,	5:39
	that's the way God made it, I'm gonna keep it, Lord help me.	5:42
	I like my hair,	5:51
	I ain't fussing about no straight hair	5:55
	and all this putting all these combs and foolish on my hair.	5:57
	My hair doesn't have to have it.	6:02
	If you get close to me I've got a good grade of hair.	6:04
	(audience laughing and clapping)	6:07
	And I can keep it up,	6:14
	it's inexpensive for me to keep mine up.	6:16
	I don't even have to carry a comb.	6:19
	I comb it in the morning.	6:22
	Sometimes I come it before I go to bed	6:26
	if I ain't too sleepy,	6:29
	and then in the morning I'm careful to comb it	6:31
	and brush it down	6:34
	and put my hair tonic on.	6:38
	And you know this hair I've got	6:43
	stays down there 'til I get back home, you know?	6:45
	I don't have to bother it anymore.	6:51
	Can you beat that? (audience laughing)	6:53
	Can you beat that, I bet you've got a comb.	6:58
	(audience laughing)	7:01
	I was gonna tell you a story but too late now.	7:08
	Good to have been with you, keep the faith	7:11
	and keep looking up, God bless you,	7:13
	God keep you, keep on looking up!	7:15
	(audience clapping)	7:20
-	Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated	8:24
	stands for excellence and scholarship and leadership,	8:28
	and as we come to share in this offering tonight	8:35
	as Dr. King has said, we would like for you to be generous	8:37
	in order that we might provide scholarship	8:42
	for young black young people today.	8:46
	(lively piano music)	9:31
-	♪ Satan, we're gonna tear your kingdom down ♪	11:41
	♪ Satan, we're gonna tear your kingdom down ♪	11:51
	♪ Because you've been building your kingdom ♪	12:02
	♪ All over this land ♪	12:09
	♪ But Satan, we're gonna tear your kingdom down ♪	12:14
	(piano accompaniment)	12:24
	♪ Satan, we're gonna tear your kingdom down ♪	12:40
	♪ Satan, we're gonna tear your kingdom down ♪	12:45
	♪ It's because you've been building... (choir singing) ♪	12:55
	♪ All over this land ♪	13:00
	♪ Satan, we're gonna tear your kingdom down ♪	13:04
	♪ Well Satan, we're gonna pray your kingdom down ♪	13:11
	♪ Satan, we're gonna pray your kingdom down ♪	13:19
	♪ Well because you've been building... ♪	13:25
	♪ All over this land ♪	13:29
	♪ Satan, we're gonna pray your kingdom down ♪	13:34
	♪ Well Satan, we're gonna sing your kingdom down ♪	13:42
	♪ Satan, we're gonna sing your kingdom down ♪	13:49
	♪ Well because you've been building... ♪	13:55
	♪ All over this land ♪	14:01
	♪ Satan, we're gonna tear your kingdom down ♪	14:04
	♪ We're gonna tear it down ♪	14:11
	♪ We're gonna tear it down ♪	14:14
	♪ We're gonna tear it down ♪	14:17
	♪ I'm talking about down, down, down low ♪	14:21
	♪ Talking, talking, talking about down, down low ♪	14:29
	♪ Talking about, sing it, down low ♪	14:35
	♪ You see I'm talking about down, down, down low ♪	14:43
	♪ Satan, we're gonna tear your kingdom down ♪	14:56
	♪ Down, down, down, down, down, down... ♪	14:57
	(audience clapping)	15:07
	(lively piano music)	15:18
	♪ So you think you're free ♪	15:48
	♪ You just don't know ♪	15:51
	♪ You've got to meet Jesus to my name ♪	15:55
	♪ So you think you're free ♪	16:00
	♪ You don't know, no ♪	16:03
	♪ You've got to meet Jesus to my name ♪	16:08
	♪ So you think your work is done ♪	16:13
	♪ And everything's alright ♪	16:17
	♪ You've got to meet Jesus to my name ♪	16:20
	♪ So you think your work is done ♪	16:25
	♪ And everything's alright ♪	16:29
	♪ You've got to meet Jesus to my name ♪	16:33
	♪ Prepare to meet the Lord (repeated many times) ♪	16:39
	♪ So you think your work is done ♪	17:06
	♪ And everything's alright ♪	17:08
	♪ You've got to meet Jesus to my name ♪	17:12
	♪ Prepare to meet the Lord (repeated many times) ♪	17:17
	♪ You better prepare to meet the Lord (repeated) ♪	17:50
	♪ So you think your work is done ♪	18:03
	♪ And everything's alright ♪	18:05
	♪ You've got to meet Jesus ♪	18:08
	♪ You've got to meet Jesus ♪	18:11
	♪ You've got to meet Jesus to my name ♪	18:14
	(slow piano music)	18:31
-	Would you bring the offering forth, please?	19:01
-	For the gift that that we have given	20:09
	we come not only to thank you for the offering	20:11
	that has been brought, but we dedicate our lives	20:13
	in the name of the father,	20:18
	the son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.	20:24
-	Let us all join hands together	20:35
	with your neighbor beside you.	20:39
	(piano playing scales)	20:43
	As we join hands, may it be symbolic	20:50
	of the unity that we all desire to have.	20:53
	The desire as one for peace, for unity,	20:58
	for brotherhood, for sisterhood.	21:01
	For the walls of the division and racism	21:05
	and discrimination can be torn down	21:11
	because those divisions that are here amongst us,	21:15
	we are the ones who have put them here.	21:20
	And as we unite hands together,	21:24
	may we also unite hands together with God,	21:26
	with whom all things are possible if you only believe	21:30
	and act upon that belief.	21:37
	It says here for the recessional "We Shall Overcome".	21:42
	We, meaning not just you and I assembled here,	21:47
	we came here in worship and acknowledgement	21:51
	of the God of creation, Heaven and Earth.	21:55
	That is the We that shall overcome	22:00
	with love, perfect love,	22:05
	all these divisions can be torn down.	22:08
	It won't easy; it wasn't easy when the divisions came,	22:10
	it shall not be easy when they fall down.	22:15
	We shall overcome, you wait and see, you wait and see.	22:19
	We shall overcome someday.	22:28
	Don't be up there by yourself, come on down.	22:35
	♪ We shall overcome ♪	22:42
	♪ We shall overcome ♪	22:47
	♪ We shall overcome, some day ♪	22:52
	♪ Deep in my heart ♪	23:03
	♪ I do believe ♪	23:08
	♪ We shall overcome some day ♪	23:14
	Sing it again, we shall overcome!	23:20
	♪ We shall overcome ♪	23:25
	♪ We shall overcome ♪	23:30
	♪ We shall overcome, some day ♪	23:35
	♪ Deep in my heart ♪	23:46
	♪ I do believe ♪	23:52
	♪ We shall overcome, some day. ♪	23:57
	♪ Black and white together ♪	24:08
	♪ Black and white together ♪	24:13
	♪ Black and white together ♪	24:19
	♪ Deep in my heart ♪	24:28
	♪ I do believe ♪	24:35
	♪ We shall overcome, some day ♪	24:40
	♪ We are not afraid ♪	24:51
	♪ We are not afraid ♪	24:56
	♪ We are not afraid today ♪	25:02
	♪ Deep in my heart ♪	25:12
	♪ I do believe ♪	25:18
	♪ We shall overcome, some day ♪	25:23
	Now won't you hum that, please.	25:31
	(choir humming "We Shall Overcome")	25:35
	Will you all bow your heads for the benediction?	26:15
	Oh gracious God, you have been here with us.	26:19
	You have seen us here, you've heard the word spoken.	26:24
	You even know the thoughts that have been thought.	26:29
	It is our prayer and it desire at this time	26:32
	that you dismiss us not just from this place	26:36
	but not from thy presence.	26:42
	Now may thy grace, the love of thy son,	26:45
	the communion and spirit of the Holy Ghost,	26:49
	brood with us now and forever more, Amen.	26:52
	(piano playing "We Shall Overcome")	27:03
	(congregation chatting)	27:54

Item Info

Title:

Martin Luther King, Sr. - Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Service (April 4, 1980)

Description:

The Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. gives an extended meditation on his life, his son's life, and some of the issues of the civil rights movement. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 53:40. Sermon end time: (Part 2) 07:24.
Key quotation: “If thou be the son of God, come down from that cross. The devil is saying that to you every day...I’m glad [Jesus] didn’t come down. If he had of come down, we’d have had no Easter. We’d have had no Palm Sunday. We’d have no Good Friday, if he had have come down…[and] I’m glad Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t come down.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4rf5kw1f

Date:

April 4, 1980

Speaker:

King, Martin Luther, Sr., 1899-1984

Biblical Book:

Isaiah

Chapter and Verse:

Isaiah 55:6-13

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-1085
ref7382_yt2
uachapelsermaud
duke:320795
dcrau001964
ark:/87924/r4rf5kw1f
75b7d641-3474-44ad-9499-3abc8a8b9f00

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

No Re-Use

In Copyright

Rights Note:

This material is made available for research, scholarship, and private study. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations: https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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