A View From The Top: Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Mountaintop” Speech

Forty years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. The day before, he gave what would be his last speech. Referred to as the “Mountaintop” speech, King spoke about his desire for a long life, but that this desire came second to his mission of pursuing racial equality and harmony.

God, that voice. He could be asking us to pass the Metamucil in that voice and it would frankly send chills down our spine.

What is important to remember, though, on this 40th anniversary of his death, is how much he’s left for us to still do. Especially with the often culturally and historically ignorant or misinformed media speculation and political climate surrounding the current election campaigns (Latinos! Won’t! Vote! For! A Black man!), we are constantly and steadily barraged with images and language that might have the affect of numbing us to the severity and immediacy of working against all the racist and xenophobic sentiment that still runs rampant through America - and Latin America.