Martin Luther
King Jr.
/an. 15, 1929-April 4, 1968
Every now and then l guess we all think realistically about that day when
we will be victimized with what is life's final common denominator - that
something we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then l
think about my own death, and l think about my own funeral. And / don t
think of it in a morbid sense. Every turn- and then / ask myself. What is it
that l would want said?' And / leave the word to you this morning. J
If any of you are around when / have to meet my day, / don t want a long M
funeral And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk fl
too long. Every now and then I wonder what / want them to say. Tell them
not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize, that isn't important. Tell fl
them not to mention that / have three or four hundred other awards, that s s
not important Tell them not to mention where l went to school.
I'd like somebody to mention that day, that... Martin Luther King. Jr.,
tried to give his life sen ing others.’ I'd like for somebody to say that day .
. . ' Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.' / want you to say
that day, that... '7 tried to be right on the war question. / want you to be
able to say that day, that... '7 did try to feed the hungry. Audi want
you to be able to say that day, that... ' 7 did try, in my life, to clothe tlwse
who were naked: ’ / want you to say, on that day, that ... 7 did try, in my
life, to visit those who were in prison.” / want you to say that... / tried
to love and serve humanity.
Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum
major for justice; say that / was a drum major for peace; / was a drum
major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.
/ won’t have any money to leave behind. / won’t have the fine and luxurious
things of life to leave behind. But / just want to leave a committed life m
behind. 9
And that’s all I want to say .. . if I can help somebody as I pass along, if M
/ can cheer somebody with a word or song, if I can show somebody he s
traveling wrong, then my living will not be in vain. If / can do my duty as a ^
Christian ought, if I can bring salvation to a world once wrought, if I can
spread the message as the master taught, then my living will not be in vain.
Lxcerpt from the sermon of the Rev. Dr. Marlin l.uther King
Jr., preached at Lbcnexer Baptist Church on Feb. 4,196* and
played at his funeral on April 9, 196*.
^ /-" ^
v John Bruco/ Daily Nebraskan
Professors say progress made, but equality not yet achieved
By Victoria Ayotte
Senior Editor
Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights
Movement made great progress in erasing dis
criminatory laws, but two University of Ne
braska-Lincoln professors say King’s dream
has yet to be fulfilled.
Although minorities no longer face blatant
discrimination, they still face the barriers of
economic oppression, said John Gruhl, associ
ate professor of political science.
America’s black lower class is possibly
worse off than it was in the 1960s, Gruhl said.
The poverty problem is a more subtle form of
discrimination, he said, and will be the civil
rights challenge of the future.
Gruhl said the civil rights successes of the
1960s took care of the “easiest part of the
problem” - putting issues on the public
agenda and eliminating discriminatory laws.
But the public hasn’t been interested in civil
rights problems recently, he said, because of
actions taken by the Reagan administration.
The administration has argued against af
firmative action, Gruhl said, and sent a signal
that it is “not necessary to comply.”
Michael Combs, associate professor of po
litical science, said the movement led by King
was successful in legal and constitutional
terms.
Combs said civil rights success has not been
‘ ‘as steady or as great’ ’ in political or economic
terms.
Economic barriers are as great as before the
Civil Rights Movement, Combs said. The gap
between black income and white income has
not narrowed and the unemployment rate is
still greater for minorities, he said.
Gruhl and Combs agree, however, that the
strife of American blacks would be much
greater without the work of King.
Gruhl said King is a hero to him because of
his accomplishments and the hope he gave to
people.
“1 think he was very important in helping to
gel the Civil Rights Movement off the ground
and giving it some real moral power,” Gruhl
said.
Combs said he also thinks King was a great
man who made a difference.
”1 would compare (King) to any man in
volved in public life in the last 2,000 years,”
Combs said. “He had the ability to stale the
problem and speak to the white community.”
Combs said he personally has seen some
civil rights successes because he has not faced
the discrimination his father encountered.
Gruhl said it is important to celebrate Mar
lin Luther King Jr. Day, because King was a
symbol of the Civil Rights Movement
Combs said he also thinks it’s important to
remember King.
“He’s done as much for while America as
he has done for black America,” Combs said.
Paul Miles, special assistant for minority
affairs to Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
James Griesen, said there has been great prog
ress in civil rights, but “that’s not to say it’s a
satisfactory level of progress.”
“We’ve come a long way, but we still have
a long ways to go,” Miles said.
Miles said there is “no doubt” that King
made an impact on society.
M ilcs said it is important to celebrate King’s
holiday, so his efforts arc not forgotten.
If his efforts arc forgotten, the whole civil
rights message has been “wasted,” he said.
“Wc have to not let the efforts he died for
rest,” Miles said.
Activities to honor King holiday
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln celebrates Martin
Luther King Jr. Day today with a series of events in the
Nebraska Union ard ’he Culture Center.
‘‘Eye on the P*ize,” a video chronicling the Civil
Rights Movement, will be shown from K) a.m. to noon
and from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Nebraska Union.
At noon, the “ I Have a Dream* ’ address will be played
following a welcoming address. King's last speech will be
shown irf the union aner the “1 Have a Dream” speech.
Tonight’s events at the Culture Center begin at 6 p.m.
with a welcoming address, followed by the film
“Montgomery to Memphis” and a speech by Paul Alex
ander, a civil rights leader and counselor for Omaha
Public Schools.
Paul Miles, special assistant for minority affairs to
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs James Griesen, said
Alexander will speak on the past and present Civil Rights
Movement
At 7:30 p.m., participants in the day’s activities will
hold a candlelight vigil. They will march from the Culture
Center to the state Capitol.
The events are spoasored by Griesen, black faculty and
staff and the Afrikan People’s Union, Miles said.
Bennett Martin Public Library, 14th and N streets, will
show throe films continuously from 10 a.m. to S p.m.
today. They include * ‘Martin Luther Kina Jr. Commemo
rative Collection,” ‘‘Montgomery to Memphis” and
“Martin Luther King Jr. Day.”
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“I have a dream today. ”
.../ have a dream that one day “every valley shall
be exalted and every hill and mountain shall be
made low. The rough places will be made plain and
the crooked places will be made straight, and the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh
shall see it together
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back
to the South with. With this faith we shall be able to
transform the jagg ling discords of our nation into a
beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith
we will be able to work together, to pray together,
to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand
up for freedom together, knowing that we will be
free one day. And this will be the day. This will be
the day when all of God’s children will be able to
sing with new meaning, “My country tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty, of thee / sing. Land where rny
fathers died, land of the pilgrim s pride, from every
mountain side, let freedom ring.’’ And if America is
to bq a great nation, this must become true.
So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops
of New Hampshire; let freedom ring from the
mhiiii'Mi* i t i » m > i i n , >. 1 • '• *' ’fttl. ft Hilt i i ,
mighty mountains of New York; let freedom ring
from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania;
let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of
Colorado; let freedom ring from the curvaceous
slopes of California. But not only that. Let freedom
ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia; let freedom
ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee; let
freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Missis
sippi. hrom every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, and when we allow free
dom to ring, when we let it ring from every village
and every hamlet, from every state atul every city,
we will be able to speed up that day when all God s
(hildren, black men and white men, Jews and
gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to
join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro
spiritual: "Free at last. Free at last. Thank God
Almighty, we are free at last."
Kxoerpt from “I have a drcain
Rev. I>r. Martin Luther King Jr
August 28, 1963
Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D C.
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