By ONE’s Marjorie Harris, for the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Dr.

On the evening of April 3, 1968, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, stood before a crowd at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, the city was under a tornado watch and the streets blanketed with sheets of rain. As he rose to take the podium to deliver his sermon – frequently referred to as the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech- the storm crested in areas surrounding the city as tornadoes and torrential rains left damaged homes in their wake. Many recall his oratory of that evening – his fluent references to the “promised land” and “freedom in the air”. Yet, few acknowledge that on that evening, the eve of his assassination 40 years ago today, that Dr. King was doing what he believed he was called to do at that time in history — fighting on behalf of the poor and disenfranchised.

As the nation pauses to recognize the life and accomplishments of one of the world’s greatest leaders, those of us who are committed to the ideals of social and economic justice for the overlooked, the underprivileged, and the poor, must acknowledge that we too, are being called upon to act in the middle of a storm. When we overlook the 25 million people in Africa who are infected by HIV/AIDS, we cannot adequately brace ourselves for the impact that will be felt when this disease reaches our local communities. When we fail to pressure our elected officials to support legislation that addresses the more than 450 million people around the world who lack access to clean water, or the 77 million children who are unable to attend grade school because their parents cannot afford books or fees —- we cease to be worthy of the legacy of Dr. King and others who withstood the tempests of their time to effect social change.

Towards the end of his “Mountaintop” speech, Dr. King encouraged the rally attendees to continue to stand with the striking sanitation workers – the working poor. We must go to the mountaintop of our day and look ahead to the end to global poverty and disease. We must raise our voices, as one force, to bring us to the promised land of the 21st century.

-Marjorie Harris

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