Benjamin E. Mays - "Martin Luther King, Jr." Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Service (January 11, 1976)
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| (soft piano music) | 0:16 | |
| (bright orchestra music) | 1:00 | |
| - | In a world facing the revolt of ragged and hungry masses | 5:20 |
| of God's children. | 5:24 | |
| In a world torn between the tensions of east and west, | 5:28 | |
| black and white individualists and collectivists. | 5:31 | |
| In a world whose cultural and spiritual power lags | 5:35 | |
| so far behind her technological capabilities. | 5:38 | |
| That we live each day on the verge | 5:42 | |
| of nuclear co annihilation. | 5:44 | |
| In this world, non-violence is no longer an option | 5:48 | |
| for intellectual analysis, it is an imperative or action. | 5:53 | |
| Now let me suggest first that if we are to have peace | 6:03 | |
| on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical | 6:06 | |
| rather than sectional. | 6:11 | |
| Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, | 6:14 | |
| our class, our nation. | 6:17 | |
| And this means we must develop a world perspective. | 6:21 | |
| No individual can live alone, no nation can live alone. | 6:26 | |
| And as long as we try, the more we're going to have war | 6:31 | |
| in this world. | 6:36 | |
| Now the judgment of God is upon us. | 6:38 | |
| And we must either learn to live together as brothers | 6:42 | |
| and sisters, or we are all going | 6:44 | |
| to perish together as fools. | 6:48 | |
| With the words of the him still ringing in our ears | 6:56 | |
| and these words from the late Dr. Martin Luther king, Jr, | 6:59 | |
| let me welcome you to this service of remembrance | 7:05 | |
| and celebration and recommitment. | 7:08 | |
| On January 15 of this week, | 7:14 | |
| we will celebrate the 47th anniversary of the birth | 7:19 | |
| of the late Dr. Martin Luther king, Jr. | 7:23 | |
| And so we are privileged this day to gather in his memory, | 7:28 | |
| to share together a service which we trust, | 7:35 | |
| we pray in God's name, we'll call all of us once again | 7:38 | |
| to the vision which he had, into the tasks which he left | 7:44 | |
| for us to complete. | 7:49 | |
| So as minister to the university, | 7:53 | |
| and has one who has been privileged to have a part | 7:57 | |
| in planning and preparing for this service, let me say | 7:59 | |
| that we're pleased to have each of you here this day. | 8:02 | |
| I trust as I am confident as a matter of fact, | 8:06 | |
| I trust that this will be a time of rich renewal, | 8:11 | |
| in Word and in song for each of you | 8:16 | |
| and for all of us together, as we worship God, | 8:20 | |
| and as we worship as one community of believers. | 8:26 | |
| May I as we begin the service express a word of thanks | 8:31 | |
| to the special committee, which has been responsible | 8:34 | |
| for planning the service, to their work, | 8:37 | |
| and to their plans and to their efforts, | 8:39 | |
| to those who will be singing and leading us in song | 8:44 | |
| in this time together, | 8:48 | |
| the St Joseph's ANE church choir with Dr. Mitchell, | 8:50 | |
| the Pallettes who will be singing later, | 8:58 | |
| with Mrs. Dorothy Pringle as the director. | 9:01 | |
| The chapel choir under the direction of Mr. Benjamin Smith. | 9:06 | |
| To Mr. Fred Mason, who is the organist | 9:12 | |
| at St. Joseph's church. | 9:15 | |
| And also to miss Portia Turner will be introduced | 9:18 | |
| and we'll sing a solo for us. | 9:22 | |
| We're pleased to have you, | 9:25 | |
| all of you folks, lead us in song and share | 9:28 | |
| your special messages with us this day. | 9:32 | |
| And then to those who have helped and served as ushers | 9:36 | |
| coming from the Peace Missionary Baptist church, | 9:40 | |
| from the Pilgrim United Church of Christ, | 9:44 | |
| And from Baptist Church, we say thanks to you. | 9:47 | |
| To all who have shared up to this moment and to those | 9:52 | |
| who will lead us the remainder of this service, | 9:55 | |
| may I express my appreciation and yours | 9:58 | |
| as we continue with the service at this moment. | 10:02 | |
| - | Today is the first occasion | 10:16 |
| on which I have ever represented the city of Durham. | 10:17 | |
| I cannot think of a more meaningful one for me, | 10:20 | |
| and it gives me a great personal pleasure to extend | 10:24 | |
| a welcome from the city to Dr. Mays, | 10:28 | |
| and to all of you who are here to share this occasion. | 10:32 | |
| At its meeting last Monday night, | 10:37 | |
| the Durham City Council adopted unanimously | 10:39 | |
| a resolution calling for a rededication to the goals | 10:43 | |
| of equal opportunity and justice, which Dr. King pursued | 10:47 | |
| with such effectiveness and compassion. | 10:51 | |
| Durham is a city of many diverse | 10:56 | |
| and often conflicting communities. | 10:59 | |
| The hard questions, the real problems, | 11:03 | |
| the effective solutions will not be reached easily, | 11:07 | |
| and they will never be resolved unanimously. | 11:13 | |
| As we try to reach those goals, it is my hope that | 11:17 | |
| we will keep in mind, especially the words of Dr. King, | 11:22 | |
| that a printed on the first page of our program | 11:26 | |
| for this afternoon. | 11:30 | |
| It really boils down to this he wrote, | 11:33 | |
| "That all life is interrelated, tied into | 11:36 | |
| a single garment of destiny, | 11:40 | |
| whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. | 11:43 | |
| We are made to live together." | 11:49 | |
| If in Durham we can remember that, and rededicate ourselves | 11:53 | |
| to that spirit, we can, I think continue to make progress | 11:58 | |
| in the goals which he lived for us so effectively. | 12:04 | |
| - | To Dr. Young, Mrs. Clathrate, Dr. Mays, | 12:23 |
| other distinguished guests. | 12:31 | |
| I feel highly honored to have the opportunity to come | 12:34 | |
| this afternoon to share in this hour of commemoration, | 12:38 | |
| in the absence of our president, ZD Harris, | 12:46 | |
| of the Durham Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, | 12:53 | |
| of Durham and Vicinity. | 12:58 | |
| And the Reverend LP Perry, the first vice president, | 13:01 | |
| IWED second vice president. | 13:07 | |
| I am here to bring you greetings | 13:12 | |
| from the Durham Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance | 13:14 | |
| of Durham and Vicinity. | 13:17 | |
| We are delighted that such an occasion has been planned | 13:21 | |
| in the city, and that we have been incorporated into it, | 13:25 | |
| and we have the opportunity to share | 13:31 | |
| in this planned program. | 13:33 | |
| It makes us know that we are a community | 13:37 | |
| that is interrelated, and that we are able to share | 13:40 | |
| in the activities of such a university, | 13:44 | |
| here in our own home community. | 13:48 | |
| And to have the university share in what we are doing | 13:52 | |
| as the ministers and leaders of the city. | 13:57 | |
| And certainly Dr. Harris would have me to express | 14:01 | |
| his regrets for former commitments made, | 14:05 | |
| and for this reason he cannot be here today. | 14:10 | |
| But certainly you have our prayers as ambassadors of God, | 14:14 | |
| as we continue to bring this community together, | 14:19 | |
| by putting forth all of our efforts that God has given to us | 14:23 | |
| to use as responsible beings. | 14:28 | |
| Thank you. | 14:32 | |
| ♪ I opened my mouth to the Lord ♪ | 15:40 | |
| ♪ And I will never will turn ♪ | 15:44 | |
| ♪ I will go, I shall go ♪ | 15:50 | |
| ♪ To see what the end will be ♪ | 15:54 | |
| ♪ I opened my mouth to the Lord ♪ | 15:58 | |
| ♪ And I never will turn back ♪ | 16:02 | |
| ♪ Oh, I will go, I will go ♪ | 16:07 | |
| ♪ I shall go, I shall go ♪ | 16:09 | |
| ♪ To see what end will be ♪ | 16:12 | |
| ♪ Oh, man who thought to serve the Lord ♪ | 16:16 | |
| ♪ I will go, I shall go ♪ | 16:21 | |
| ♪ Will surely get his just reward ♪ | 16:26 | |
| ♪ To see see what the end will be ♪ | 16:30 | |
| ♪ I made my vows to the Lord ♪ | 16:34 | |
| ♪ And I never, will turn back ♪ | 16:39 | |
| ♪ I will go, I shall go ♪ | 16:44 | |
| ♪ To see what the end will be ♪ | 16:49 | |
| ♪ I will go, I shall go ♪ | 16:58 | |
| ♪ I'm watching Jesus will be mine ♪ | 17:02 | |
| ♪ To see what the end will be ♪ | 17:07 | |
| ♪ Oh, I've made my vows to the Lord ♪ | 17:10 | |
| ♪ And I never will turn back ♪ | 17:15 | |
| ♪ I will go, I shall go ♪ | 17:20 | |
| ♪ To see what the end will be ♪ | 17:24 | |
| ♪ Sometimes I love, sometimes I die ♪ | 17:29 | |
| ♪ I will go, I shall go ♪ | 17:34 | |
| ♪ But still my soul will forever be mine ♪ | 17:38 | |
| ♪ To see what the end will be ♪ | 17:43 | |
| ♪ I've made my vows to the Lord ♪ | 17:46 | |
| ♪ And I never will turn back ♪ | 17:51 | |
| ♪ I will go, I shall go ♪ | 17:56 | |
| ♪ To see what the end will be ♪ | 18:01 | |
| ♪ I've opened my mouth to the Lord ♪ | 18:04 | |
| ♪ And I never will turn back ♪ | 18:09 | |
| ♪ Oh, I will go, I will go ♪ | 18:13 | |
| ♪ I shall go, I shall go ♪ | 18:16 | |
| ♪ To see what the end will be ♪ | 18:19 | |
| ( singing hymnal) | 18:48 | |
| - | Please let us pray. | 22:41 |
| God of all nations and people. | 22:45 | |
| Lord of all places and lands. | 22:48 | |
| God of all colors and races, | 22:52 | |
| all creation, praise your holy name. | 22:57 | |
| The stars, the light, the night, the sun, | 23:02 | |
| that banishes darkness. | 23:05 | |
| The grass of the field and the wheat white to the harvest, | 23:07 | |
| creatures vast as heaven, | 23:13 | |
| creatures tiny as the poor inch worm, | 23:16 | |
| all praise your holy name. | 23:21 | |
| We join our praise with them, Oh God. | 23:25 | |
| For you have been to us, your people, | 23:30 | |
| a home in exile, dry land in the midst of waters, | 23:34 | |
| a way in the wilderness, | 23:42 | |
| and our rock in this strange and we're in land. | 23:45 | |
| We thank you Lord for having brought us thus far, | 23:52 | |
| from bondage through trial. | 23:56 | |
| From ignorance of our own strengths. | 23:59 | |
| From contempt of ourselves and our brothers. | 24:03 | |
| From hopelessness in the face of our own hopes and dreams. | 24:07 | |
| From desert wonderings to the place where we stand today. | 24:13 | |
| We thank you Lord for all men and women, | 24:21 | |
| whom you have used | 24:27 | |
| in your purpose to lead us, | 24:31 | |
| more especially on this occasion, | 24:37 | |
| we thank you for your servant, Martin Luther king Jr. | 24:39 | |
| Who lived and died | 24:46 | |
| for the liberation and salvation of all people. | 24:51 | |
| On this day, oh God, too, we thank you for the life | 24:58 | |
| and for the work of Benjamin Elijah Mays, | 25:02 | |
| who has coming from a fall to be with us, to share with us, | 25:09 | |
| and to speak to us now from your Word. | 25:14 | |
| Sometimes we wonder, | 25:21 | |
| while we as a people have had | 25:25 | |
| to bare what we've had. | 25:27 | |
| Sometimes we wonder why for us the river is so deep, | 25:31 | |
| the land always so strange. | 25:35 | |
| Sometimes it seems that though, we must always climb | 25:41 | |
| we seem no closer to the goal, | 25:47 | |
| nor narrow to the land of our hearts desire. | 25:50 | |
| Sometimes we must cry out why, oh Lord, how long? | 25:55 | |
| Hear us when we cry. | 26:02 | |
| Share the lyric traveler, give us the strength we need. | 26:07 | |
| Come upon your people like wind in a dry land. | 26:13 | |
| Help us, oh God, make us wise and craft this whole | 26:19 | |
| just give us the courage to fight home | 26:24 | |
| until the prize of freedom is ours, | 26:29 | |
| till our minds are free of doubt, doubt of ourselves, | 26:33 | |
| and doubt of you. | 26:36 | |
| Help us to fight on until our hearts and our souls are free. | 26:39 | |
| Free of the chains of the past. | 26:45 | |
| Free to use that past to fashion a greater future. | 26:48 | |
| Oh, thou who never lost a battle, | 26:54 | |
| standing by us we pray, amen. | 26:58 | |
| Music will be furnished at this time by the Paulettes, | 27:09 | |
| a group from greater St. Paul Baptist church. | 27:15 | |
| Mrs. Dorothy Pringle is the director, | 27:20 | |
| And the reverend doctor, W.T Bigelow is the pastor. | 27:24 | |
| The Paulettes. | 27:29 | |
| ♪ Come and go with me to my Father's house ♪ | 28:18 | |
| ♪ To my Father's house ♪ | 28:25 | |
| ♪ To my Father's house ♪ | 28:28 | |
| ♪ Come and go with me ♪ | 28:31 | |
| ♪ To my Father's house ♪ | 28:35 | |
| ♪ There is joy ♪ | 28:38 | |
| ♪ Joy, joy ♪ | 28:40 | |
| ♪ Come and go with me to my Father's house ♪ | 28:45 | |
| ♪ To my Father's house ♪ | 28:52 | |
| ♪ To my Father's house ♪ | 28:56 | |
| ♪ Come and go with me ♪ | 28:59 | |
| ♪ To my Father's house ♪ | 29:03 | |
| ♪ There is joy ♪ | 29:05 | |
| ♪ Joy, joy ♪ | 29:08 | |
| ♪ There is peace and love in my Father's house ♪ | 29:13 | |
| ♪ In my Father's house ♪ | 29:21 | |
| ♪ In my Father's house ♪ | 29:24 | |
| ♪ There is peace and love in my Father's house ♪ | 29:28 | |
| ♪ There is joy ♪ | 29:34 | |
| ♪ Joy, joy ♪ | 29:37 | |
| ♪ There is peace and love ♪ | 29:42 | |
| ♪ In my Father's house ♪ | 29:46 | |
| ♪ In my Father's house ♪ | 29:50 | |
| ♪ In my Father's house ♪ | 29:53 | |
| ♪ There is peace and love in my Father's house ♪ | 29:57 | |
| ♪ There is joy ♪ | 30:03 | |
| ♪ Joy, joy ♪ | 30:06 | |
| ♪ Peace and happiness there in my Father's house ♪ | 30:12 | |
| ♪ In my Father's house there's peace ♪ | 30:19 | |
| ♪ Joy never cease ♪ | 30:22 | |
| ♪ Peace and happiness there in my Father's house ♪ | 30:26 | |
| ♪ There's joy ♪ | 30:32 | |
| ♪ Joy, joy ♪ | 30:35 | |
| ♪ There's joy ♪ | 30:40 | |
| ♪ Joy, joy ♪ | 30:42 | |
| ♪ There's joy ♪ | 30:47 | |
| ♪ Joy, joy ♪ | 30:50 | |
| ♪ He touched me ♪ | 31:20 | |
| ♪ He touched me ♪ | 31:23 | |
| ♪ Oh, he touched me ♪ | 31:24 | |
| ♪ He touched me ♪ | 31:30 | |
| ♪ Oh ♪ | 31:32 | |
| ♪ Oh what a joy ♪ | 31:34 | |
| ♪ What a joy ♪ | 31:38 | |
| ♪ In my soul ♪ | 31:39 | |
| ♪ Something happened ♪ | 31:47 | |
| ♪ And now I know ♪ | 31:53 | |
| ♪ When he, he touched me ♪ | 31:59 | |
| ♪ And made me whole ♪ | 32:03 | |
| ♪ Oh, yes he did ♪ | 32:07 | |
| ♪ Oh, he touched me ♪ | 32:10 | |
| ♪ He touched me ♪ | 32:16 | |
| ♪ Oh, he touched me ♪ | 32:17 | |
| ♪ He touched me ♪ | 32:23 | |
| ♪ Oh ♪ | 32:24 | |
| ♪ What a joy ♪ | 32:29 | |
| ♪ What a joy ♪ | 32:30 | |
| ♪ In my soul ♪ | 32:32 | |
| ♪ Oh, yes ♪ | 32:33 | |
| ♪ Something happened ♪ | 32:39 | |
| ♪ And now I know ♪ | 32:45 | |
| ♪ So when he touched me ♪ | 32:50 | |
| ♪ And made me whole ♪ | 32:55 | |
| ♪ He made me whole ♪ | 32:58 | |
| ♪ I was lost ♪ | 33:04 | |
| ♪ And reaching from the whole ♪ | 33:10 | |
| ♪ I was reaching so far ♪ | 33:16 | |
| ♪ From the fall ♪ | 33:23 | |
| ♪ Oh, yes I was ♪ | 33:26 | |
| ♪ When he reached out ♪ | 33:29 | |
| ♪ And he touched me ♪ | 33:33 | |
| ♪ And now I know ♪ | 33:36 | |
| ♪ When he touched me ♪ | 33:41 | |
| ♪ And me whole ♪ | 33:45 | |
| ♪ He made me whole ♪ | 33:49 | |
| ♪ Yes, he touched me ♪ | 33:52 | |
| ♪ He touched me ♪ | 33:58 | |
| ♪ Oh, he touched me ♪ | 34:00 | |
| ♪ He touched me ♪ | 34:04 | |
| ♪ Oh joy ♪ | 34:06 | |
| ♪ What a joy ♪ | 34:11 | |
| ♪ What a joy ♪ | 34:12 | |
| ♪ In soul ♪ | 34:13 | |
| ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ | 34:15 | |
| ♪ Something happened ♪ | 34:20 | |
| ♪ And now I know ♪ | 34:26 | |
| ♪ So when he touched me ♪ | 34:31 | |
| ♪ And made me whole ♪ | 34:36 | |
| ♪ He made me whole ♪ | 34:39 | |
| ♪ I was lost ♪ | 34:45 | |
| ♪ And reaching ♪ | 34:52 | |
| ♪ From the whole ♪ | 34:54 | |
| ♪ I was reaching so far ♪ | 34:58 | |
| ♪ From the fall ♪ | 35:04 | |
| ♪ Oh, yes, I was ♪ | 35:07 | |
| ♪ But he reached out ♪ | 35:10 | |
| ♪ And he touched me ♪ | 35:13 | |
| ♪ And now I know ♪ | 35:16 | |
| ♪ So when he touched me ♪ | 35:22 | |
| ♪ And made me whole ♪ | 35:26 | |
| ♪ He made me whole ♪ | 35:29 | |
| ♪ Yes, he touched me ♪ | 35:32 | |
| ♪ He touched me ♪ | 35:38 | |
| ♪ Oh, he touched me ♪ | 35:40 | |
| ♪ He touched me ♪ | 35:44 | |
| ♪ Oh, what a joy ♪ | 35:46 | |
| ♪ What a joy ♪ | 35:52 | |
| ♪ In my soul ♪ | 35:53 | |
| ♪ Oh, yes ♪ | 35:55 | |
| ♪ Oh, something ♪ | 35:58 | |
| ♪ Happened and now I know ♪ | 36:03 | |
| ♪ So when he touched me ♪ | 36:11 | |
| ♪ And made me whole ♪ | 36:15 | |
| - | For our old Testament lesson this afternoon, | 37:11 |
| we read from the 65th chapter of Isaiah, | 37:18 | |
| as is found in the back of your hymnal selection number 643. | 37:24 | |
| As we read, let us listen for the Word of God. | 37:31 | |
| "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth." | 37:40 | |
| Congregation | "And the former shall not be remembered, | 37:48 |
| nor come into mind." | 37:52 | |
| - | "But be glad and rejoice forever, that which I create." | 37:54 |
| Congregation | " For, behold, I create Jerusalem | 38:01 |
| a rejoicing, and her people a joy." | 38:04 | |
| - | "I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people." | 38:08 |
| Congregation | "No more shall be heard weeping, the sound | 38:14 |
| of weeping and the cry of distress." | 38:17 | |
| - | "They should build homes and inhabit them." | 38:21 |
| Congregation | "They shall plant vineyards | 38:24 |
| and eat their fruit." | 38:26 | |
| - | "They shall not build and another inherit." | 38:28 |
| - | " They shall not plant and another eat." | 38:32 |
| - | "For like the days of a tree, | 38:35 |
| shall the days of my people be." | 38:38 | |
| Congregation | "My chosen and elect shall all enjoy | 38:42 |
| the work of their hands." | 38:44 | |
| - | "They shall not labor in vain." | 38:46 |
| Congregation | "For they shall be provided." | 38:49 |
| - | "For they shall be the offspring of the blessed | 38:53 |
| of the Lord." | 38:55 | |
| Congregation | "And their children with them.' | 38:57 |
| - | "Before they call, I will answer." | 39:00 |
| Congregation | "And while they are yet speaking, | 39:03 |
| I will hear." | 39:05 | |
| - | "The Wolf and the lamb shall feed together." | 39:07 |
| Congregation | "And the lion shall eat straw like the ox." | 39:10 |
| - | "And dust shall be the serpent's food." | 39:15 |
| Congregation | "They shall not hurt or destroy | 39:19 |
| in all My Holy Mount, say the Lord." | 39:22 | |
| - | Well, the new scripture selection, | 39:27 |
| We'll read the fourth chapter of Luke, | 39:34 | |
| beginning the 16th through the 22nd verse. | 39:43 | |
| "And he came to Nazareth where He was brought up, | 39:51 | |
| and they went to the synagogue as His custom was | 39:55 | |
| on the Sabbath day. | 39:59 | |
| And he stood up to read and that was given to him, | 40:01 | |
| the book of a prophet, Isaiah. | 40:06 | |
| He opened the book and found the place where it was written. | 40:09 | |
| 'The spirit of the Lord is upon me because | 40:14 | |
| he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, | 40:18 | |
| he has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, | 40:22 | |
| and discovering the sight of the blind. | 40:27 | |
| To set at liberty those who are oppressed. | 40:30 | |
| To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." | 40:35 | |
| And he closed the book and gave it to the attendant | 40:40 | |
| and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue | 40:44 | |
| were fixed upon him. | 40:48 | |
| And he began to say it to them, | 40:52 | |
| 'Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in you hearings.' | 40:55 | |
| And all spoke well of him and wondered | 41:00 | |
| at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth." | 41:04 | |
| - | All of us gathered here this afternoon. | 41:33 |
| Know, Dr. Mays, know of Dr. Mays. | 41:38 | |
| Most of you know him much better than I do. | 41:44 | |
| Some of you know, him quite intimately, | 41:48 | |
| but it is a real privilege for me, | 41:53 | |
| for us to have him with us this weekend. | 41:56 | |
| He moved us and stirred us with his message this morning, | 42:03 | |
| saying that there is indeed a unique place for black people | 42:08 | |
| to lead us in the second hundred years of the history | 42:13 | |
| of this nation. | 42:16 | |
| But he also said that there is a place for us | 42:19 | |
| to join hands together. | 42:22 | |
| So we welcome him again to Duke University, to Duke Chapel, | 42:26 | |
| to this particular service of commemoration when he comes | 42:32 | |
| to share with us, about one whom he loved, | 42:35 | |
| about one with whom he was most intimate. | 42:41 | |
| Indeed, has as been said, a confidant, | 42:46 | |
| and a colleague namely, | 42:49 | |
| the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. | 42:52 | |
| For four years, I imagine he knew him quite well because | 42:55 | |
| it was during the four years of 1944 to 48 | 42:59 | |
| that Dr. Martin Luther king was a student | 43:02 | |
| at Morehouse College, where Dr. Benjamin Mays | 43:05 | |
| was still perhaps a little wet behind the ears | 43:10 | |
| as the relatively new president of Morehouse College, | 43:15 | |
| having assumed that position in 1940. | 43:18 | |
| An institution that he served with great distinction | 43:24 | |
| from 1940 until 1967. | 43:27 | |
| And after that extended period of service, | 43:32 | |
| one would think that a man might be ready to retire, | 43:35 | |
| but my guess is that he is as busy and as active now, | 43:37 | |
| eight years after retirement, as perhaps before. | 43:43 | |
| In 1969, he was elected to the city board of education | 43:47 | |
| in Atlanta, and in 1970 was named the president | 43:51 | |
| of that board. | 43:54 | |
| And in that position as well as in many others | 43:56 | |
| has demonstrated his statesmanship, | 44:00 | |
| his unwavering commitment to justice for all persons. | 44:04 | |
| His willingness to risk himself or his convictions, | 44:10 | |
| and for the rights and the benefits of others. | 44:16 | |
| So it is fitting and it is indeed our privilege, | 44:21 | |
| Dr. Mays, that you have taken time and that you come today | 44:27 | |
| to share with us a word from God, a word from you, | 44:32 | |
| and remembrances that we know will stir us | 44:37 | |
| and challenge us again. | 44:41 | |
| So we welcome you as we celebrate, | 44:43 | |
| as we remember with gratitude, | 44:47 | |
| and as we hear you, welcome again. | 44:49 | |
| Dr. Mays will speak to us following | 44:57 | |
| a selection to be sung by miss Portia Turner. | 45:02 | |
| Portia is a second year student here at Duke, | 45:07 | |
| and has been active in many capacities among them singing | 45:11 | |
| and leading and working actively with the Black Mass Choir. | 45:15 | |
| She will sing, "If I Can Help Somebody Today". | 45:20 | |
| Portia. | 45:27 | |
| ♪ If I can help ♪ | 46:11 | |
| ♪ Somebody ♪ | 46:14 | |
| ♪ As I pass along ♪ | 46:21 | |
| ♪ If I can cheer somebody ♪ | 46:28 | |
| ♪ With a word or song ♪ | 46:36 | |
| ♪ If I can show somebody ♪ | 46:45 | |
| ♪ He is traveling wrong ♪ | 46:54 | |
| ♪ Then my living ♪ | 47:03 | |
| ♪ Shall not be in vain ♪ | 47:06 | |
| ♪ Then my living ♪ | 47:16 | |
| ♪ Shall not be in vain ♪ | 47:20 | |
| ♪ No my living ♪ | 47:28 | |
| ♪ Shall not be in vain ♪ | 47:33 | |
| ♪ If I can help somebody ♪ | 47:42 | |
| ♪ As I go along ♪ | 47:50 | |
| ♪ Then my living shall not ♪ | 47:58 | |
| ♪ Be in vain ♪ | 48:04 | |
| ♪ If I can do my duties ♪ | 48:10 | |
| ♪ As a good man ought ♪ | 48:18 | |
| ♪ If I can bring salvation ♪ | 48:24 | |
| ♪ To this world ♪ | 48:31 | |
| ♪ This world of Love ♪ | 48:35 | |
| ♪ If I can spread ♪ | 48:39 | |
| ♪ Love's message ♪ | 48:43 | |
| ♪ As the Master taught ♪ | 48:48 | |
| ♪ Then my living shall not ♪ | 48:56 | |
| ♪ Be in vain ♪ | 49:02 | |
| ♪ If my living ♪ | 49:08 | |
| ♪ Shall not be in vain ♪ | 49:14 | |
| ♪ If my living ♪ | 49:21 | |
| ♪ Shall not ♪ | 49:27 | |
| ♪ Be in vain ♪ | 49:32 | |
| ♪ If I can help ♪ | 49:40 | |
| ♪ Somebody ♪ | 49:44 | |
| ♪ As I pass along ♪ | 49:50 | |
| ♪ Then my living ♪ | 49:59 | |
| ♪ Shall not be ♪ | 50:02 | |
| ♪ In vain ♪ | 50:14 | |
| - | Dr. Young, program participants, | 50:38 |
| ladies and gentlemen, | 50:46 | |
| one never knows what it is | 50:49 | |
| that triggers a response, | 50:55 | |
| but I am convinced that it was my contact | 51:01 | |
| with Martin Luther king Jr. in chapel at Morehouse | 51:05 | |
| that brought us close together. | 51:11 | |
| There, we began a real friendship | 51:16 | |
| which was strengthened by visits in his home, | 51:22 | |
| and by fairly frequent and former chats | 51:28 | |
| on the campus and in my office. | 51:34 | |
| Many times during his four years at Morehouse, | 51:39 | |
| he would linger after my Tuesday morning address | 51:47 | |
| to discuss some point I had made usually with approval, | 51:53 | |
| sometime questioning are disagreed. | 52:01 | |
| I was not aware of how deeply he was impressed | 52:08 | |
| by what I said | 52:13 | |
| and did not until he wrote, | 52:17 | |
| "Stride Toward Freedom", | 52:21 | |
| in which he indicated that I had influenced | 52:25 | |
| his life to a mark agree. | 52:29 | |
| In public addresses, he often referred to me | 52:34 | |
| as his spiritual mentor. | 52:40 | |
| Since his death, several persons especially | 52:43 | |
| those seeking data for an article, our book, | 52:48 | |
| particularly those from Europe and other parts of the world, | 52:54 | |
| have asked me whether I knew in what way | 53:00 | |
| I was influencing Martin's life. | 53:04 | |
| The answer is an unqualified no. | 53:10 | |
| There is no way, | 53:18 | |
| one can know the degree of influence | 53:21 | |
| one has upon another. | 53:26 | |
| It must be said at all cadre, | 53:32 | |
| that I feel that Martin Luther king Jr. Did as much for me, | 53:36 | |
| if not more than I did for him. | 53:40 | |
| Perhaps if I had not known Martin through | 53:46 | |
| the Morehouse chapel, and if his father had not been elected | 53:50 | |
| to the board of trustees of Morehouse College, | 53:58 | |
| our friendship would not have been | 54:02 | |
| so meaningful and so deep though. | 54:07 | |
| Our friendship continued to grow during his years | 54:14 | |
| of study at Kroger Theological Seminary, | 54:17 | |
| at Boston University, and for the graduate study | 54:21 | |
| at Harvard University, during his pastorate | 54:26 | |
| at Montgomery and before, | 54:31 | |
| during the years when he joined his father | 54:35 | |
| as co-pastor in Ebeneezer Church in Atlanta, | 54:37 | |
| and through the civil rights struggle, | 54:41 | |
| our friendship increased. | 54:44 | |
| When Martin Luther had almost completed his doctorate | 54:49 | |
| at the Boston University, | 54:53 | |
| I offered him a position on the faculty at Morehouse, | 54:56 | |
| after giving serious consideration to my invitation, | 55:01 | |
| he decided that he should accept the pastorate | 55:06 | |
| of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. | 55:10 | |
| When he returned to Atlanta as co-pastor | 55:16 | |
| of Ebenezer Baptist Church, | 55:20 | |
| I again offered him work as a part-time professor, | 55:22 | |
| hoping that someday he would be with us | 55:27 | |
| at Morehouse full-time and for many years. | 55:31 | |
| So great what a public demands on his time however, | 55:37 | |
| that after one semester he had | 55:42 | |
| to give up his seminar on non-violence. | 55:45 | |
| Had he accepted my offer to teach | 55:52 | |
| at Morehouse, he would no doubt would be alive today, | 55:54 | |
| but his name would not be among the models few | 56:00 | |
| who have achieved world renown. | 56:06 | |
| Furthermore, had the city officials in Montgomery, | 56:13 | |
| been enlightened or even sensible men, | 56:16 | |
| the life of Martin Luther king Jr. | 56:22 | |
| would have been a different story. | 56:23 | |
| Then to had Mrs. Rosa Parks behaved | 56:28 | |
| as she was supposed to, | 56:33 | |
| and as Negro generally had behave for decades, that is, | 56:37 | |
| if she had gotten up and given a white man her seat, | 56:44 | |
| that would have been no Montgomery Bus Boycott. | 56:49 | |
| Had the city officials met the simple demands | 56:53 | |
| of the Montgomery Improvement Association, | 56:57 | |
| perhaps the world would have never witnessed | 57:00 | |
| Dr. King capacity for magnificent, selfless leadership, | 57:04 | |
| in the interest of mankind. | 57:09 | |
| The demand and the Montgomery Improvement Association, | 57:13 | |
| were all reasonable, too reasonable. | 57:16 | |
| At all within this segregated pattern, | 57:21 | |
| It also seen that any sane city officials | 57:25 | |
| would have agreed to permit Martin Luther and other Negroes | 57:32 | |
| to keep their seats. | 57:38 | |
| If when entering the rare they fill the bus, | 57:41 | |
| in which case whites would have to stand, | 57:46 | |
| the reverse would be true if whites filled the bus. | 57:50 | |
| Sensible officials would have been willing | 57:55 | |
| to hire Negro bus drivers | 58:00 | |
| suddenly in predominantly Negro areas, | 58:04 | |
| and would have instructed white drivers to be civil | 58:08 | |
| in their treatment of black customers, | 58:12 | |
| all these demands were denied. | 58:16 | |
| Hence the year along Montgomery Bus Boycott, | 58:21 | |
| It is highly probable that Martin Luther king Jr | 58:27 | |
| was the only man who could have led | 58:31 | |
| the Montgomery Bus Boycott | 58:34 | |
| for an entire year without violence. | 58:37 | |
| With the exception of the violence instigated | 58:42 | |
| by white people. | 58:45 | |
| Without Dr. King charisma, his brilliant mind, | 58:48 | |
| and his unquenchable spirit, | 58:54 | |
| Negro would hardly have stuck it out. | 58:57 | |
| But Dr. King, it was the beginning | 59:02 | |
| of an incredible pilgrimage, | 59:06 | |
| which was to bring worldwide out of un-acclaimed and death. | 59:11 | |
| From that moment on the bus boycott, | 59:21 | |
| until it assassination on April the fourth, 1968, | 59:28 | |
| he moves steadily from height to height, | 59:33 | |
| loved by his friends and hated by his enemies. | 59:37 | |
| I'm sorry, he did not come to Morehouse, | 59:43 | |
| but no college could have provided such an opportunity | 59:47 | |
| for leadership, a leadership so needed by all mankind, | 59:51 | |
| and one for which he was so eminently qualified to give. | 59:59 | |
| All the counters incidents, | 1:00:07 | |
| I could relate about Martin Luther king Jr. | 1:00:09 | |
| I've chosen three, these three, | 1:00:13 | |
| because it seems to me that they illustrated so perfectly | 1:00:17 | |
| the quality of the man so, his vision, his courage, | 1:00:22 | |
| and his magnificent capacity for self denying love. | 1:00:28 | |
| The first of these concern, Rosa Parks, | 1:00:35 | |
| who by the rest of December, the first 1955, | 1:00:39 | |
| nobody knows just why on this particular occasion, | 1:00:44 | |
| she didn't choose obey the bus drivers orders to get up | 1:00:49 | |
| so white man might sit down. | 1:00:54 | |
| Perhaps she was tired after working all day, | 1:00:59 | |
| perhaps she was just tired or being pushed around | 1:01:04 | |
| all her life by white people. | 1:01:09 | |
| At any rate she sat and the bus boycott was on. | 1:01:14 | |
| When the Montgomery official discovered that violence | 1:01:24 | |
| could not stay the protests or stopped the boycott, | 1:01:28 | |
| respondent to mass arrest | 1:01:33 | |
| using an old state law against boycotts. | 1:01:36 | |
| Dr. King, who was in Nashville at the time, | 1:01:42 | |
| knew that if he returned to Montgomery | 1:01:46 | |
| he would be arrested too. | 1:01:48 | |
| En route to Montgomery, | 1:01:52 | |
| he stopped overnight in Atlanta, | 1:01:54 | |
| his father frantic for his son's safety, assembled a group | 1:01:57 | |
| of friends to consult with them about the wisdom | 1:02:03 | |
| of Martin Luther king Jr. immediate return to Montgomery. | 1:02:08 | |
| It was on February the 22nd, 1956, | 1:02:13 | |
| that we at the residential Martin Luther king, Sr. | 1:02:18 | |
| And according to Martin Luther's own book, | 1:02:22 | |
| "Stride Towards Freedom", | 1:02:25 | |
| the following persons were present, | 1:02:27 | |
| A.T Walden, a distinguished attorney. | 1:02:30 | |
| C.R Yeats and T.M Alexander, both prominent businessman. | 1:02:34 | |
| CAS Scott editor of the Atlanta Daily World. | 1:02:39 | |
| Bishop Shannon Green, | 1:02:43 | |
| of the AME Church Roofers Clement, | 1:02:45 | |
| president of Atlanta University, | 1:02:48 | |
| and Benjamin Mays, president of Morehouse College. | 1:02:50 | |
| As I myself remember attorney Dan Duke, | 1:02:54 | |
| oh, white attorney was present. | 1:03:00 | |
| Reverend King senior stated his reason for calling | 1:03:03 | |
| us together and express his conviction that his son should | 1:03:06 | |
| not return to Montgomery right away. | 1:03:11 | |
| And "Stride Towards Freedom", Martin Luther king Jr. writes, | 1:03:16 | |
| that after his father's statement, | 1:03:20 | |
| there were murmurs of agreement in the room and I listened, | 1:03:24 | |
| as sympathetically and objectively as I could, | 1:03:32 | |
| while two other men gave their reason for finding | 1:03:36 | |
| for concurring, these were my elders, | 1:03:44 | |
| leaders among my people, their words commanded respect, | 1:03:50 | |
| but soon I could not restrain myself any longer, | 1:03:56 | |
| I must go back to Montgomery, my friend and associates | 1:04:00 | |
| have been arrested, it would be the height of cowardice | 1:04:05 | |
| for me to stay out. | 1:04:10 | |
| I would rather be in jail 10 years, | 1:04:13 | |
| than dessert my people now. | 1:04:17 | |
| I have a gun to struggle and I can't turn back. | 1:04:22 | |
| I reached a point in no return, | 1:04:29 | |
| in the moments of silence that followed, | 1:04:32 | |
| I heard my father break into tears, I looked at Dr. Mays, | 1:04:34 | |
| one of the great influences in my life. | 1:04:39 | |
| Perhaps you heard my unspoken plea. | 1:04:44 | |
| At any rate, he was soon defending my position strongly. | 1:04:48 | |
| I had to defend Martin Luther's position. | 1:04:52 | |
| "He was the man of deep integrity and firm conviction. | 1:04:56 | |
| How could he, I decided otherwise than | 1:05:02 | |
| the return to Montgomery. | 1:05:06 | |
| How could he hide while his comrades in non-violent arms | 1:05:09 | |
| are being arrested and carried the jail?" | 1:05:15 | |
| That in essence is what I said. | 1:05:21 | |
| And for the second event, the officials in Alabama, | 1:05:25 | |
| and particularly in Montgomery, took great delight | 1:05:30 | |
| in harassing Dr. Martin Luther King, | 1:05:34 | |
| even after the Montgomery Bus Boycott ended. | 1:05:36 | |
| In 1957, when Ralph Abernathy tried | 1:05:41 | |
| on some trumped up charge, the Montgomery cold house | 1:05:47 | |
| was almost full. | 1:05:52 | |
| When Dr. King wanted to get in, | 1:05:55 | |
| the officer refused him permission. | 1:05:58 | |
| And upon his insistent, he was arrested, | 1:06:01 | |
| twisting his arms, they pushed and kicked him into a cell. | 1:06:04 | |
| Before Mrs. King and others could plan a strategy | 1:06:11 | |
| for getting Dr. King out, he was suddenly released. | 1:06:15 | |
| At the trial, he was convicted of loitering, | 1:06:21 | |
| and given the choice, he could save time or pay a fine. | 1:06:26 | |
| Here come the great decision. | 1:06:32 | |
| Convinced that he had been unlawfully arrested | 1:06:37 | |
| and unjustly convicted, and therefore could not | 1:06:42 | |
| in good conscience pay the fine, | 1:06:46 | |
| Dr. King announced that he would serve his time in jail. | 1:06:50 | |
| This pronounce shocked and stunned the court. | 1:06:56 | |
| I understand that the judge almost begged Dr. King | 1:07:02 | |
| to pay the fine, some person at the time unknown paid it. | 1:07:07 | |
| Later, it was learned that Clyde Sellers, | 1:07:12 | |
| the chief of police had paid it remarking | 1:07:16 | |
| that it would be cheaper to pay the fine than to have | 1:07:20 | |
| Martin Luther king Jr. in jail at the city's expense. | 1:07:23 | |
| Dr. King decision not to pay the fine | 1:07:31 | |
| went almost unnoticed at the time, but to me it was one | 1:07:36 | |
| of the most momentous decision | 1:07:41 | |
| of his whole civil rights career. | 1:07:44 | |
| It made a tremendous impression on me, | 1:07:48 | |
| he would obey an unjust verdict, | 1:07:53 | |
| but by serving time | 1:07:57 | |
| rather than paying a fine for something he should never | 1:08:00 | |
| have been convicted of, he registered for the whole world, | 1:08:03 | |
| he protest against injustice. | 1:08:09 | |
| It's great decision. | 1:08:12 | |
| Had motivated and will continue to motivate | 1:08:15 | |
| the action of others as we pursue this long journey | 1:08:18 | |
| up the precipitous hill towards racial justice, democracy, | 1:08:24 | |
| and Christian living in this country and the world. | 1:08:30 | |
| A third incident will dramatize Martin Luther King's | 1:08:36 | |
| high regard for law, even for unjust laws, | 1:08:40 | |
| those who have condemned him for admonishing people | 1:08:46 | |
| to break unjust laws, have not realized, | 1:08:50 | |
| and when he himself violated them, | 1:08:54 | |
| he was not being irresponsible, it was his way of speaking | 1:08:57 | |
| or seeking to achieve social change | 1:09:04 | |
| without instigating physical violence. | 1:09:07 | |
| If he had violated the law and then cried for amnesty, | 1:09:12 | |
| his action in a sense, would have been irresponsible | 1:09:19 | |
| and would have indicated disrespect for law. | 1:09:24 | |
| Oh, when Martin Luther violated the law, | 1:09:29 | |
| he did so consciously and deliberately, | 1:09:32 | |
| and was always willing to pay the penalty exacted by law, | 1:09:38 | |
| even though the law was blatantly unjust. | 1:09:44 | |
| Your winning is separate for our righteous cause | 1:09:49 | |
| and the firm belief that | 1:09:52 | |
| this kind of suffering was redemptive. | 1:09:54 | |
| I saw him demonstrate this belief | 1:09:57 | |
| on October, the 29th, 1967. | 1:10:00 | |
| Brethren Glenn H Legett had invited a group | 1:10:04 | |
| of distinguished Americans to the Grinnell College | 1:10:07 | |
| to confer honorary degrees upon a group of citizens. | 1:10:14 | |
| Dr. King and I were among them. | 1:10:19 | |
| He to give the congregation address in the morning | 1:10:25 | |
| before the conferring of degrees in the afternoon, | 1:10:30 | |
| and I to introduce him. | 1:10:33 | |
| His schedule was so tight that he had warned Cornell | 1:10:35 | |
| that he might not be able to get there. | 1:10:41 | |
| So an official of the college asked me to stand in | 1:10:44 | |
| if he couldn't make it. | 1:10:48 | |
| An emphatic no, had to be my answer to this request. | 1:10:51 | |
| This huge crowd had come to hear Dr. King, not me. | 1:10:56 | |
| No substitute could have been adequate. | 1:11:04 | |
| To make his appearance, Dr. King had to come | 1:11:07 | |
| by a private provided by a friend. | 1:11:12 | |
| The crowd that had waited patiently for 90 minutes | 1:11:16 | |
| for his arrival, gave him a standing ovation | 1:11:22 | |
| when he appeared and applauded long and loud, | 1:11:26 | |
| when he finished speaking. | 1:11:31 | |
| This was the speech Martin made just before | 1:11:34 | |
| he returned to Montgomery once more, | 1:11:40 | |
| to serve time for contempt of court. | 1:11:43 | |
| He had a heavy cold, and I was greatly concerned when | 1:11:47 | |
| he left me in Grinnell to go to Birmingham. | 1:11:53 | |
| He could have ducked another ordeal | 1:12:01 | |
| by staying out of Alabama, but true to his character, | 1:12:06 | |
| he would not run, he could not run, he could not hide, | 1:12:13 | |
| even though he knew he have been punished unjustly, | 1:12:20 | |
| on the one who held the highest respect for law. | 1:12:26 | |
| It went in his said time for violating laws, | 1:12:31 | |
| whether just or unjust. | 1:12:35 | |
| They can never, | 1:12:39 | |
| this man never cried for mercy. | 1:12:41 | |
| He never asked for amnesty, the Grinnell experience, | 1:12:46 | |
| was five months and eight days before his assassination. | 1:12:52 | |
| My next public speech about Martin Luther was the eulogy | 1:12:58 | |
| I gave at his funeral on April the ninth, 1968. | 1:13:02 | |
| Martin Luther king Jr. Was a powerful man, | 1:13:08 | |
| more powerful than I was, and still am so inspired | 1:13:12 | |
| by his integrity, his courage, and his commitment | 1:13:18 | |
| that I have never been quite objective about him. | 1:13:22 | |
| I will wholeheartedly in accord with most things he did, | 1:13:26 | |
| even when I had reservation | 1:13:32 | |
| about a certain course of action, | 1:13:34 | |
| I resisted to criticized him. | 1:13:39 | |
| Both because I thought, | 1:13:45 | |
| his judgment might well be better than mine. | 1:13:48 | |
| And because I could never doubt the sincerity | 1:13:53 | |
| of his purpose. | 1:13:58 | |
| It angered me to hear him accused | 1:14:00 | |
| of being inconsistent, insincere, | 1:14:04 | |
| or doing things for the applauded or the crowd. | 1:14:09 | |
| Many, for example, condemned him | 1:14:14 | |
| on his stand on Vietnam, even some civil rights leaders | 1:14:19 | |
| and other Negroes in high places were harsh | 1:14:25 | |
| in their criticism. | 1:14:28 | |
| In conversation on public platform, | 1:14:31 | |
| and in my weekly articles in the Pittsburgh Courier, | 1:14:34 | |
| I found myself in a happy position on defending his stand | 1:14:38 | |
| on this and many other issues. | 1:14:43 | |
| Why should Dr. King have confined | 1:14:45 | |
| his work to civil rights and left Vietnam | 1:14:50 | |
| to the government experts | 1:14:54 | |
| and military professionals? | 1:14:56 | |
| I learned long ago that there are no infallible experts | 1:14:59 | |
| on war, and that no leader | 1:15:05 | |
| has ever been able to confine his leadership to one area, | 1:15:09 | |
| a part I made in the Pittsburgh Courier, | 1:15:15 | |
| on May the 20th, 1967, my quote, | 1:15:17 | |
| "I do not agree that the leaders will criticize | 1:15:21 | |
| Dr. King on the ground that he should stick to civil rights, | 1:15:26 | |
| and not mix civil rights with foreign policy. | 1:15:31 | |
| If the critics differ with him because of his stand | 1:15:36 | |
| on the Vietnam wall, let them say so. | 1:15:41 | |
| No leader leads in one particular area." | 1:15:46 | |
| I think most civil rights. | 1:15:52 |
| - | Before he led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, | 0:03 |
| he had consistently expounded | 0:07 | |
| on the doctrine of nonviolence. | 0:09 | |
| The Peace Prize, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to him | 0:12 | |
| on this philosophy. | 0:17 | |
| He had expounded this philosophy on the home front, | 0:19 | |
| and it is logical that he would expound it | 0:23 | |
| on the international front. | 0:26 | |
| I think we should at least make, | 0:28 | |
| they should make their criticism of Dr. King | 0:31 | |
| on the major issue. | 0:34 | |
| Long before the world paid tribute | 0:36 | |
| to Martin Luther King Jr. | 0:39 | |
| by awarding him the Nobel Peace Prize, | 0:41 | |
| Morehouse College had conferred upon him the highest honor. | 0:44 | |
| We wanted to be the first college, our university, | 0:49 | |
| to recognize his leadership in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. | 0:52 | |
| The boycott had continued on all through 1956, | 0:56 | |
| and our first commencement after that was in June 1957. | 1:01 | |
| In April, I proposed that we honor Dr. King | 1:06 | |
| on June the fourth by conferring upon him | 1:11 | |
| the honorary degree of doctor of humane letters. | 1:14 | |
| The faculty and Board of Trustees | 1:18 | |
| accepted my recommendation unanimously. | 1:20 | |
| It gave me great joy to confer the degree | 1:25 | |
| when the day came. | 1:30 | |
| The eulogy which I gave at the funeral services for Dr. King | 1:32 | |
| at Morehouse College on April the 9th, 1968 | 1:37 | |
| was my last tribute | 1:41 | |
| to a great and good man. | 1:44 | |
| Thank you. | 1:48 | |
| - | At this time, we will be led by some music | 2:03 |
| to be shared for us | 2:08 | |
| by the Black Ensemble | 2:11 | |
| from New Hope Baptist Church, | 2:15 | |
| the Reverend Fletcher Harris, Pastor. | 2:18 | |
| (majestic piano music) | 3:05 | |
| ♪ Take me back ♪ | 4:27 | |
| ♪ Take me back, dear Lord ♪ | 4:31 | |
| ♪ To the place ♪ | 4:34 | |
| ♪ Where I first received you ♪ | 4:37 | |
| ♪ Take me back ♪ | 4:42 | |
| ♪ Take me back, dear Lord ♪ | 4:46 | |
| ♪ Where I first believed ♪ | 4:48 | |
| ♪ Ohhh ♪ | 4:53 | |
| ♪ Take me back ♪ | 4:55 | |
| ♪ Take me back ♪ | 4:57 | |
| ♪ I need to go back ♪ | 4:58 | |
| ♪ Take me back, dear Lord ♪ | 5:01 | |
| ♪ Oh, to the place ♪ | 5:03 | |
| ♪ To the place ♪ | ||
| ♪ Oh Lord ♪ | 5:06 | |
| ♪ Where I first received you ♪ | 5:07 | |
| ♪ I need to go back ♪ | 5:10 | |
| ♪ Take me back ♪ | 5:12 | |
| ♪ Come on and take me back ♪ | 5:14 | |
| ♪ Take me back, dear Lord ♪ | 5:15 | |
| ♪ Where I first believed ♪ | 5:18 | |
| ♪ Ohhhhhhh ♪ | 5:22 | |
| ♪ I tried so hard ♪ | 5:26 | |
| ♪ I tried so hard ♪ | 5:32 | |
| ♪ To make it all alone ♪ | 5:35 | |
| ♪ Ohhhhhhhh ♪ | 5:36 | |
| ♪ I need, I need ♪ | 5:39 | |
| ♪ I need, I need, I need ♪ | 5:40 | |
| ♪ I need your help ♪ | ||
| ♪ I've got to make it home, Lord ♪ | 5:46 | |
| ♪ Just to make it home ♪ | 5:49 | |
| ♪ Ohhhhh ♪ | ||
| ♪ Take me back ♪ | 5:53 | |
| ♪ Take me back ♪ | 5:55 | |
| ♪ I need to go back ♪ | 5:56 | |
| ♪ Take me back, dear Lord ♪ | 5:58 | |
| ♪ To the place ♪ | 6:01 | |
| ♪ To the place ♪ | ||
| ♪ Where I first received you ♪ | 6:04 | |
| ♪ I need to go back, dear Lord ♪ | 6:07 | |
| ♪ Take me back ♪ | 6:09 | |
| ♪ Come on and take me back ♪ | 6:11 | |
| ♪ Take me back, dear Lord ♪ | 6:13 | |
| ♪ Where I first believed ♪ | 6:15 | |
| ♪ I tried so hard ♪ | 6:24 | |
| ♪ Oooh, I tried so hard ♪ | 6:28 | |
| ♪ To make it all alone ♪ | 6:32 | |
| ♪ Ohhhhhh ♪ | 6:34 | |
| ♪ I need, I need ♪ | 6:36 | |
| ♪ I need, I need ♪ | 6:37 | |
| ♪ I need your help ♪ | ||
| ♪ I've got to make it home, Lord ♪ | 6:43 | |
| ♪ Just to make it home ♪ | 6:45 | |
| ♪ Ohhhhhhh ♪ | 6:47 | |
| ♪ Take me back ♪ | 6:50 | |
| ♪ Take me back ♪ | 6:51 | |
| ♪ I need to go back ♪ | 6:53 | |
| ♪ Take me back, dear Lord ♪ | 6:55 | |
| ♪ Oh, to the place ♪ | 6:57 | |
| ♪ To the place ♪ | ||
| ♪ Where I first received you ♪ | 7:01 | |
| ♪ Come on and take me back, dear Lord ♪ | 7:04 | |
| ♪ Take me back ♪ | 7:06 | |
| ♪ I need to go back, dear Lord ♪ | 7:07 | |
| ♪ Take me back, dear Lord ♪ | 7:09 | |
| ♪ Where I first believed ♪ | 7:11 | |
| ♪ I first believed, believed, believed ♪ | 7:16 | |
| (baby crying) | 7:24 | |
| (uplifting piano music) | 7:42 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 8:12 | |
| ♪ I give my heart ♪ | 8:19 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 8:26 | |
| ♪ I give my soul ♪ | 8:33 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 8:39 | |
| ♪ I give my all and all and all ♪ | 8:46 | |
| ♪ I give my sorrow ♪ | 8:55 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 8:57 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | ||
| ♪ Mm-hmm ♪ | 9:01 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 9:05 | |
| ♪ I give my heart ♪ | 9:12 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 9:18 | |
| ♪ I give my soul ♪ | 9:25 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 9:31 | |
| ♪ I give my all and all and all ♪ | 9:38 | |
| ♪ I give my soul ♪ | 9:46 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 9:48 | |
| ♪ Mm-hmm ♪ | 9:53 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 9:57 | |
| ♪ I give my life ♪ | 10:04 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 10:10 | |
| ♪ I give my soul ♪ | 10:17 | |
| ♪ I give my soul ♪ | 10:20 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 10:24 | |
| ♪ I give my all and all and all ♪ | 10:29 | |
| ♪ I give my whole life ♪ | 10:37 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 10:40 | |
| ♪ Mm-hmm ♪ | 10:45 | |
| ♪ All my life, I've tried to praise him ♪ | 10:48 | |
| ♪ All my life, I've tried so hard to say ♪ | 10:55 | |
| ♪ I just want the world to know ♪ | 11:01 | |
| ♪ How much I love his soul ♪ | 11:04 | |
| ♪ He's been my joy ♪ | 11:07 | |
| ♪ Ever since I was born ♪ | 11:09 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 11:13 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 11:18 | |
| ♪ I give my life ♪ | 11:20 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 11:25 | |
| ♪ Ohhh ♪ | 11:27 | |
| ♪ To the glory, glory of God ♪ | 11:29 | |
| ♪ I give my soul ♪ | 11:32 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 11:37 | |
| ♪ To the Glory ♪ | 11:41 | |
| ♪ The Glory ♪ | 11:43 | |
| ♪ I give my all ♪ | ||
| ♪ And all ♪ | 11:47 | |
| ♪ I give my soul ♪ | 11:49 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 11:53 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 12:01 | |
| ♪ I give my heart ♪ | 12:08 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 12:14 | |
| ♪ I give my soul ♪ | 12:21 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 12:26 | |
| ♪ I give my all and all and all ♪ | 12:33 | |
| ♪ I give my whole life ♪ | 12:40 | |
| ♪ To the glory of God ♪ | 12:44 | |
| ♪ To the glory ♪ | 12:51 | |
| ♪ Of ♪ | 12:58 | |
| ♪ God ♪ | 13:03 | |
| - | Yeah! | 13:08 |
| - | It was the request | 13:53 |
| of the planning committee for this service | 13:55 | |
| that our offering go to two of the causes | 13:58 | |
| to which Dr. King was deeply committed, | 14:01 | |
| an end to capital punishment | 14:05 | |
| and the right of service workers to organize | 14:08 | |
| and be represented by the union of their own choice. | 14:11 | |
| Won't you give generously to add your support | 14:16 | |
| to these two causes here in our own community? | 14:20 | |
| After the offertory anthem, | 14:25 | |
| the doxology will be played | 14:28 | |
| as the collection is brought forward by the ushers. | 14:31 | |
| Will you please stand | 14:35 | |
| and join in the singing of the doxology | 14:37 | |
| and then remain standing for the offertory prayer | 14:39 | |
| and the litany of rededication in your bulletin? | 14:44 | |
| (gentle organ music) | 14:53 | |
| (solemn organ music) | 15:40 | |
| ♪ Holy, holy ♪ | 16:07 | |
| ♪ Holy Lord God ♪ | 16:14 | |
| ♪ Holy, holy ♪ | 16:25 | |
| ♪ Holy Lord God of hosts ♪ | 16:33 | |
| ♪ The Lord God of hosts ♪ | 16:44 | |
| ♪ Holy, holy ♪ | 17:00 | |
| ♪ Holy Lord God ♪ | 17:07 | |
| ♪ Holy, holy ♪ | 17:19 | |
| ♪ Holy Lord God of hosts ♪ | 17:26 | |
| ♪ Lord God, Lord God of hosts ♪ | 17:37 | |
| ♪ Heaven and Earth are full ♪ | 17:55 | |
| ♪ Heaven and Earth are full ♪ | 18:06 | |
| ♪ Of thy glory ♪ | 18:16 | |
| ♪ Heaven and Earth ♪ | 18:21 | |
| ♪ Heaven and Earth ♪ | 18:27 | |
| ♪ Heaven and Earth ♪ | 18:34 | |
| ♪ Are full of thy glory ♪ | 18:40 | |
| ♪ Heaven and Earth ♪ | 18:49 | |
| ♪ Are full ♪ | 18:55 | |
| ♪ Of thy glory ♪ | 18:59 | |
| ♪ Heaven and Earth ♪ | 19:15 | |
| ♪ Are full of thy glory ♪ | 19:20 | |
| ♪ Heaven and Earth ♪ | ||
| ♪ Are full ♪ | 19:26 | |
| ♪ Heaven and Earth ♪ | 19:31 | |
| ♪ Heaven and Earth ♪ | 19:34 | |
| ♪ Heaven and Earth ♪ | 19:37 | |
| ♪ Are full ♪ | 19:42 | |
| ♪ Full of thy ♪ | 19:47 | |
| ♪ Full of thy ♪ | 19:50 | |
| ♪ Full of thy ♪ | 19:53 | |
| ♪ Glory ♪ | 19:56 | |
| ♪ Glory ♪ | 19:59 | |
| ♪ Heaven and Earth ♪ | 20:01 | |
| ♪ Heaven and Earth ♪ | 20:06 | |
| ♪ Heaven and Earth ♪ | 20:12 | |
| ♪ Are full of thy glory ♪ | 20:17 | |
| ♪ Holy, holy ♪ | 20:25 | |
| ♪ Holy Lord God ♪ | 20:32 | |
| ♪ Holy, holy ♪ | 20:42 | |
| ♪ Holy Lord God of hosts ♪ | 20:49 | |
| ♪ Holy, holy ♪ | 20:59 | |
| ♪ Holy Lord God ♪ | 21:06 | |
| ♪ Heaven and Earth ♪ | 21:12 | |
| ♪ Are full of ♪ | 21:18 | |
| ♪ Thy glory ♪ | 21:22 | |
| ♪ Glory be to thee ♪ | 21:26 | |
| ♪ O Lord most high ♪ | 21:31 | |
| ♪ Amen ♪ | 21:40 | |
| ♪ Amen ♪ | 21:48 | |
| (triumphant organ music) | 22:13 | |
| ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 22:26 | |
| ♪ Praise him, all creatures here below ♪ | 22:31 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:37 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:40 | |
| ♪ Praise him above, ye heavenly host ♪ | 22:44 | |
| ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ | 22:50 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:55 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:58 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:01 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:04 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:07 | |
| ♪ Amen ♪ | 23:15 | |
| - | Oh Lord, this afternoon, we offer up for your blessing | 23:26 |
| only a portion of that which is already yours. | 23:31 | |
| May it serve as a symbol of our personal commitment | 23:36 | |
| to the causes of justice and peace. | 23:39 | |
| Use our money and use us, we pray, | 23:43 | |
| to meet the needs of all your children. | 23:46 | |
| We know that we need your presence with us | 23:50 | |
| if we are to have the strength to carry on the struggle | 23:52 | |
| for equal opportunity and equal justice for all. | 23:56 | |
| May the Holy Spirit, which caused the scales | 24:00 | |
| to fall from the eyes of the Apostle Paul, | 24:03 | |
| open our eyes to the needs around us. | 24:06 | |
| May the Holy Spirit, which has guided the saints | 24:10 | |
| and the prophets throughout the ages, | 24:13 | |
| show us the way to serve others here in this community. | 24:15 | |
| May the Holy Spirit, | 24:21 | |
| which led the pilgrims to this land in search of freedom, | 24:22 | |
| help us to understand | 24:26 | |
| that we shall not be truly free | 24:30 | |
| until all of our brothers and sisters | 24:33 | |
| also know freedom from hunger | 24:35 | |
| and poverty and discrimination. | 24:38 | |
| May the Holy Spirit, which a century ago | 24:42 | |
| gave men and women the power | 24:45 | |
| to throw off the bonds of slavery, | 24:47 | |
| give us the power | 24:50 | |
| to continue the fight against oppression | 24:52 | |
| here in this community. | 24:54 | |
| And may the Holy Spirit, | 24:57 | |
| which stood beside your servant Martin Luther King Jr., | 24:59 | |
| stand beside us today, | 25:04 | |
| accepting the offering we make of our lives | 25:07 | |
| and showing us what it is we must do | 25:12 | |
| to bring true justice to this community in which we live. | 25:16 | |
| We give our gifts and ask for your presence with us. | 25:21 | |
| In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, | 25:26 | |
| Amen. | 25:31 | |
| - | Amen. | 25:32 |
| - | A memorial service to Dr. King | 26:13 |
| would be incomplete, | 26:16 | |
| indeed, it would be a dishonor to his name, | 26:18 | |
| if it were merely a time for looking back | 26:21 | |
| at the life of a great man. | 26:25 | |
| We do honor to Dr. King | 26:27 | |
| if we not only remember his example, | 26:30 | |
| but also rededicate ourselves | 26:33 | |
| to continuing the struggles for which he gave his life | 26:36 | |
| almost a decade ago. | 26:40 | |
| Will you therefore join with me | 26:43 | |
| in stating anew here before God | 26:45 | |
| your commitment to work for justice and peace? | 26:48 | |
| Acknowledging that life in this world tends to deteriorate, | 26:54 | |
| that we tend to lose the gift of soul, | 26:59 | |
| we return to that Spirit who is the source of soul | 27:02 | |
| and soul brothering and sistering. | 27:06 | |
| Remembering that God promised through the Prophet Ezekiel | 27:09 | |
| to bring us together again from our exile, | 27:12 | |
| that our community, our communion with one another | 27:16 | |
| would be restored, | 27:20 | |
| and that in the renewed nation and world | 27:22 | |
| which we might call our own, | 27:24 | |
| even our dead, uncaring hearts of stone | 27:27 | |
| would become living, caring hearts of flesh. | 27:32 | |
| - | Take away our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh. | 27:37 |
| - | As long as you and I are content with mediocrity, | 27:42 |
| as long as we are content | 27:47 | |
| with the little good we have done | 27:49 | |
| and will not exert ourselves | 27:51 | |
| to do the greater good that we are capable of, | 27:53 | |
| we are soulless, dead, | 27:57 | |
| insensitive to our brothers' and sisters' urgent need | 28:01 | |
| for everything we can possibly offer. | 28:05 | |
| And so we pray. | 28:08 | |
| - | Take away our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh. | 28:11 |
| - | As long as our brothers and sisters lack proper food, | 28:16 |
| clothing, housing, | 28:20 | |
| education, and recreation, | 28:22 | |
| as long as poverty is real, | 28:24 | |
| there is pain. | 28:27 | |
| And if in the face of their suffering, | 28:29 | |
| we can continue to be so insensitive | 28:32 | |
| that it never causes us a sleepless night, | 28:36 | |
| then we are dead | 28:39 | |
| with hearts as cold as stone. | 28:41 | |
| - | Take away our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh. | 28:44 |
| - | As long as we separate ourselves into factions, | 28:50 |
| as long as we refuse to be soul brothers and sisters | 28:53 | |
| who breathe life into one another, | 28:57 | |
| who inspire one another, | 28:59 | |
| we are like heartless statues and need to pray, | 29:02 | |
| take away our hearts of stone | 29:06 | |
| and give us hearts of flesh. | 29:09 | |
| - | Having acknowledged our limitations, | 29:13 |
| the bonds of death that shackle us, | 29:16 | |
| we are nonetheless confident | 29:19 | |
| in the power of the Holy Spirit | 29:20 | |
| to revive us and to free us. | 29:23 | |
| Remembering the vision of the Prophet Ezekiel, | 29:26 | |
| we know that even dry bones can live again | 29:29 | |
| and that a skeptic, exiled, uncaring people | 29:33 | |
| can live together again | 29:37 | |
| and that hearts of stone can become hearts of flesh. | 29:39 | |
| Clothe us, oh Lord, with a new humanity | 29:43 | |
| created in your image, | 29:47 | |
| enlivened and renewed by your Spirit. | 29:49 | |
| Amen and Amen. | 29:53 | |
| (regal organ music) | 29:57 | |
| ♪ Mine eyes have seen the glory ♪ | 30:22 | |
| ♪ Of the coming of the Lord ♪ | 30:25 | |
| ♪ He is trampling out the vintage ♪ | 30:28 | |
| ♪ Where the grapes of wrath are stored ♪ | 30:32 | |
| ♪ He hath loosed the fateful lightning ♪ | 30:35 | |
| ♪ Of his terrible swift sword ♪ | 30:39 | |
| ♪ His truth is marching on ♪ | 30:42 | |
| ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ | 30:50 | |
| ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ | 30:56 | |
| ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ | 31:03 | |
| ♪ His truth is marching on ♪ | 31:08 | |
| ♪ I have seen him in the watchfires ♪ | 31:16 | |
| ♪ Of 100 circling camps ♪ | 31:19 | |
| ♪ They have builded him an altar ♪ | 31:22 | |
| ♪ In the evening dews and damps ♪ | 31:26 | |
| ♪ I can read his righteous sentence ♪ | 31:29 | |
| ♪ By the dim and flaring lamps ♪ | 31:33 | |
| ♪ His day is marching on ♪ | 31:36 | |
| ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ | 31:43 | |
| ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ | 31:49 | |
| ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ | 31:56 | |
| ♪ His truth is marching on ♪ | 32:01 | |
| (regal organ music) | 32:09 | |
| - | The Lord bless you and keep you. | 34:56 |
| The Lord make his face to shine upon you | 35:00 | |
| and be gracious unto you. | 35:02 | |
| The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you | 35:05 | |
| and give you peace | 35:07 | |
| now and forever. | 35:10 | |
| Amen. | 35:13 | |
| - | Amen. | 35:14 |
| (somber organ music) | 35:16 | |
| (congregation applauding) | 41:17 | |
| - | Bravo! | 41:19 |
