You can kill a Black man, but you can’t kill the cause and the spirit of Black men.
The Black man of this country has begun to move. He is discovering a heritage and developing a pride. No bullet will steal from him the freedom and equality due him as a human being and an American citizen.
The assassination of Martin Luther King is a tragedy in the deepest sense. A tragedy not just to Black men, but to men of all colors; not just to Americans, but to men of all nations; not just to Christians, but to men of all faiths.
These are words which editorial writers save for great men, for men who, like the Reverend King, live greatness from day to day. These are men who not only accept their destiny but rush forth to embrace it, who refuse to shrink from the burden of the definition of their name.
Reverend King was great among great men because he not only suffered the trials of leadership, but he shared the oppression of the people he led.
Some may say the difference between Mr. King and a Black man in an urban ghetto was like the very difference between black and white. But, the reverend shared the oppression and frustration of the ghetto dweller for he had to openly confront the White power structure which perpetuates that oppression and which sustains that frustration.
Reverend King was unique among men also because had he been given the opportunity to confront his slayer he would still be dead today. Given the chance to kill his assassin, Martin Luther King would not have saved his own life by following the path of weaker men.
Mrs. Coretta King once said, “My husband has no fear of death. He has said it does not matter how long you live, but how well. … If you have to do this for a great cause … you are doing right. I have tried to prepare myself for whatever comes, because somehow I have felt all along that what we were doing is right. If you believe in your convictions, you must stand up for them. If you really believe in a cause enough, you are willing to die for that cause.”
Reverend King believed in his cause of equality. He was willing to die for that cause because he knew his cause and his spirit would survive him.
Martin Luther King believed he was right, and he was.