Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated after giving one of the greatest speeches of his career, "I've Been to the Mountaintop". In this speech he prophetically predicted an early demise. At the same time of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination, Robert Francis Kennedy, the younger brother of the late President John F. Kennedy was giving a speech of his own in Muncie, Indiana relating to his proposed 1968 Presidential run. After arriving in his final destination for the day, Indianapolis, Indiana RFK learned of MLK's death. Arriving in the heart of Indianapolis's ghetto he spoke from his heart and gave one of the most genuine and greatest speeches in American history.
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated after giving one of the greatest speeches of his career, "I've Been to the Mountaintop". In this speech he prophetically predicted an early demise. At the same time of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination, Robert Francis Kennedy, the younger brother of the late President John F. Kennedy was giving a speech of his own in Muncie, Indiana relating to his proposed 1968 Presidential run. After arriving in his final destination for the day, Indianapolis, Indiana RFK learned of MLK's death. Arriving in the heart of Indianapolis's ghetto he spoke from his heart and gave one of the most genuine and greatest speeches in American history.
The Greatest American Speech
At 6:00 PM On April 4th, 1968 Martin Luther King JR was standing outside his hotel room speaking with Rev. Jesse Jackson who was on the level below. A minute later a shot rang out. Martin Luther King JR was shot in the face and rushed to a hospital where he died an hour later…
The Night before Martin Luther King JR gave one of his greatest speech performances, where he prophetically said “
“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!
And so I'm happy, tonight.
I'm not worried about anything.
I'm not fearing any man!
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!”
Martin Luther kIng left the stage to an outburst of cheers and applause
At the same time Robert Francis Kennedy, who went by RFK… the former President John F Kennedy’s younger brother was giving a speech at Ball State University in Muncie Indiana, it was his first day on the campaign trail for the 1968 democratic presidential nomination… he spoke about domestic issues, The Vietnam war and Racism… His campaign started strong as he was met with the crowd’s approval.
One African-American student sitting in the audience raised a question, The student asked, "Your speech implies that you are placing a great deal of faith in white America. Is that faith justified?" Kennedy answered "Yes; faith in black America is justified, too" although there are extremists on both sides."
Kennedy finished answering questions and proceeded to his plane for his 3rd and final stop of the day, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Before boarding his plane, RFK learned that Martin Luther King JR had been shot and was in critical condition. Kennedy was shocked and saddened at the news, he told a reporter that he had just told that kid about extremists on both sides and then some man just shot their spiritual leader…
Kennedy took a short flight from Muncie located just 66 miles outside of Indianapolis,
When he landed he was told Martin Luther King JR was dead. According to reporter John J. Lindsay, Kennedy seemed to shrink back as though struck Physically and put his hands to his face, saying oh, God. When is this violence going to stop?
Perhaps bringing back one of the darkest times in his life, when on November 22, 1963 J. Edgar Hoover coldly told him that his brother, President John F. Kennedy, had been shot and killed in Dallas.
While riding over to his destination, 17th and Broadway in the heart of Indianapolis's African-American ghetto. He scribbled down some notes on a card.
Many of Kennedy’s campaign representatives and city officials Including the Indianapolis mayor who considered the area too dangerous for a rally urged Kennedy to cancel the campaign stop. Kennedy declined even though the city police refused to escort him there.
Both Kennedy’s press secretary and Speechwriter drafted notes immediately before the rally for Kennedy to use but Kennedy refused. Instead he turned to the cards he had handwritten on the ride over.
The Indianapolis police again warned Kennedy that the police could not provide protection for the senator should a riot erupt.
Nevertheless, he proceeded as a messenger of peace in a time soon to become hot with rage. Reaching the neighborhood, Kennedy realized the boisterous, mostly African-American crowd was unaware of King’s death.
Kennedy starts speaking at 45 seconds
The Speech
Climbing onto the back of a flatbed truck meant as an impromptu speech stand while wearing his late brother John F Kennedy’s overcoat, Robert looked at the crowd. He first asked off mic “do they know about Martin Luther King?” the man responded… “we have uhhh left it up to you…” what the man says isn’t comprehensible…
Kennedy began by saying “I have some very sad news for all of you and that is that Martin Lutehr king was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis Tennessee “
The crowd began wailing in horror
After glancing at his notes once, he decided not to use them and spoke from his heart…
INSERT SPEECH---
The speech was completely heartfelt and genuine, Kennedy instead of using one of his speechwriters, connected with the audience and related with them on the death of his brother, something Kennedy’s aides later said they were shocked by, that he had never spoken of his brothers death in public. Quoting the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus, who Robert had become acquainted with through his brothers widow Jacky Kennedy during his time of Grieving.
Kennedy also delivered one of his best-remembered remarks that still relates to this day: "What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice towards those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black."
Kennedy was emphasizing that what the United states needed was Unity and understanding of one another regardless of race or socioeconomic class, he was echoing the words of the late Martin Luther King JR
He encouraged the country to "dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and to make gentle the life of this world."[15] He finished by asking the audience members to pray for "our country and our people."[15] Rather than exploding in anger at the tragic news of King's death, the crowd exploded in applause and enthusiasm for a second time, before dispersing quietly.
Indianapolis, remained calm when virtually every major city in the united states erupted in violence and riots that night….
this speech has been called one of the greatest public addresses of the modern era, Former U.S congressman Joe Scarborough said that the speech, prompted him to enter public service. Political commentator Joe Klein has called it
"politics in its grandest form and highest purpose" and said that it "marked the end of an era" before American political life was taken over by consultants and pollsters.
“It was such a risky thing for him to do as well because he was confronting a crowd that was ready to retaliate for the death of Martin Luther King, but he was ready to confront any retaliation or anger that people might have felt over King’s death. That took a certain amount of courage and spiritual power and groundedness,” says Aaron Bryant from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The Aftermath
After the speech, Kennedy reached his room in the Marott hotel there was a meeting waiting for him with 14 local black leaders. The meeting had been arranged before the assassination took place. The group had debated among themselves as to whether they should hold the meeting. Kennedy eventually arrived, and the conversation quickly became heated as leaders accused him of being an unreliable member of "the white establishment." He lost his temper, saying, "I don't need all this aggravation. I could sit next to my swimming pool. You know, God's been good to me and I really don't need anything. But I just feel that if He's been that good, I should try to put something back in. And you all call yourselves leaders and you've been moaning and groaning about personal problems. You haven't once talked about your own people." The meeting ended with most attendees pledging their support to Kennedy's campaign.[8] One of them later acknowledged that Kennedy was "completely sympathetic and understanding"
The 14 convinced kennedy, who had decided to suspend his presidential campaign to make a final appearance in Cleveland the following day, perhaps to calm tensions as he had just done in Indianapolis
later he called King’s widow Coretta Scott King in Atlanta. Kennedy promised her that he would help "any way" he could. After the call, He ordered three more telephones to be installed in the King residence for King and her family to be able to answer the flood of calls they received as well as a call center in Atlanta for King’s family to use. she also said she needed a plane to carry her husband’s body from Memphis to Atlanta, and he immediately promised to provide her one.
Coretta Scott King asked Robert Kennedy and his wife Ethel Kennedy to attend Martin Luther King Jrs funeral, which they did another bold move as even the president Lyndon B Johnson didn’t go out of fear of provoking a riot, he sent his vice president and Kennedy’s opponent in the future presidential race Hubert Humphry on his behalf.
Meanwhile, African-American anger erupted in rioting across more than 100 American cities, with deaths totaling 43, over 3,000 injuries and 20,000 arrests.
Johnson was not surprised by the riots he reportedly said "What did you expect? I don't know why we're so surprised. When you put your foot on a man's neck and hold him down for three hundred years, and then you let him up, what's he going to do? He's going to knock your block off."
President Lyndon B Johnson tried to quell the riots by making several telephone calls to civil rights leaders, mayors and governors across the United States and told politicians that they should warn the police against the unwarranted use of force.[253] But his efforts didn't work out: "I'm not getting through," Johnson told his aides. "They're all holing up like generals in a dugout getting ready to watch a war."
The next day Kennedy received his speech from his speechwriters, he reviewed it and deeply revised it… inserting what he saw as Americas largest problem "That more and more people are turning to violence. And in the last analysis it's going to destroy our country."
When Kennedys plane landed in Cleveland the police warned him of possible assasins waiting for him, one was allegedly waiting in a church steeple across the hotel where he would give his speech. Kennedy’s aides suggested he wait while they go to make sure everything is okay, he angrily retorted "No. We'll never stop for that kind of threat."
Later the aides requested they close the blinds and kennedy ordered them open saying “
“If they’re going to shoot, they’ll shoot,”
On the Mindless Menace of Violence april 5th
Kennedy spoke for only 10 minutes,
--Insert parts---
Kennedy’s speech focused on Violence and how it is Destroying America, a Violence that is deep rooted and cultural, one coming from everything from the Vietnam war, to racism, to the violence of the protestors.
This time in American history has been come down to be known as the Turbulence of 1968, in January of that year the TET offensive took place where any hopes for an end to the Vietnam war were diminished. Anti-war protestors began filling the streets in the months before MLK’s assassination.
The Black panther movement was becoming popular, which made the assassination of MLK extra vile. MLK had been a proponent of peaceful protest, the Black Panther movement and other African American leaders, such as Malcolm X had preached Violence in defense of themselves.
Kennedy Alluded to prejudice rhetoric common by other political leaders such as presidential nominee George Wallace, who notoriously said in a former electoral campaign
“In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.”
Kennedy cautioned that when a society tries to teach people to hate each other or that another man is a lesser man it will always lead to violence.
As Kennedy left the stage several women were in tears, he took no questions from the audience and was given a standing ovation.
Kennedy’s On the Mindless Menace of violence was and has been largely overshadowed by his off the cuff remarks the night of Martin Luther King JR’s assassination.
After Kennedy gave his Cleveland speech, he returned to Washington DC. From the air, he could see smoke hovering over city neighborhoods.
Upon landing, Kennedy proposed driving into the riot zone to calm down the mobs, saying, "I think I can do something with these people." Most of his aides were shocked at the idea. Fred Dutton, attempting to delay, suggested that Kennedy inform Mayor Walter Washington of his plans as a courtesy. John Bartlow Martin told him that little could be done while people were still rioting, and that he would appear to be grandstanding. Kennedy then reluctantly went home.
Kennedy returned to Indiana and on April 10 delivered his third and final speech inspired by King's death. Moving past his previous calls for compassion and an end to violence, he admonished whites to accept and welcome blacks into American society.
Kennedy spent the next 2 months building a coalition on liberal populism. Empathizing racial equality and economic justice, mirroring the ideology of Martin Luther King JR. He focused specifically on youth engagement.
During a speech given at the Indiana University Medical School, Kennedy was asked, "Where are we going to get the money to pay for all these new programs you're proposing?" Kennedy replied to the medical students, who were poised to enter lucrative careers, "From you."
63 days after his Speech on 17th and Broadway… Robert Francis Kennedy was shot and killed in the Ambassador Hotel of Los Angeles. He won a much needed and stunning victory in the California Primary and was giving a speech.
After his congratulatory speech, his aides rushed him through the kitchen to avoid the crowds, Kennedy who was adored by his supporters would often stop to shake hands with them.
Kennedy stopped in the kitchen to shake hands with Juan Romero a Busboy working at the hotel.
Just then an Sirhan Sirhan a Palestinian immigrant to the united states stepped out from behind the ice machine and repeatedly shot Kennedy.
Kennedy had been hit numerous times and lay on the ground mortally wounded, as the busboy Romero cradled his head.
Kennedy asked Romero, "Is everybody OK?" and Romero responded, "Yes, everybody's OK." Kennedy then turned away and said, "Everything's going to be OK."
Friend and journalist Pete Hamill recalled that Kennedy had "a kind of sweet accepting smile on his face, as if he knew it would all end this way".
Kennedy had been shot three times.
Frank Mankiewicz left Kennedy’s hospital and walked to the gymnasium where the press and news media were set up for continuous updates on the situation. At 2 a.m. on June 6, Mankiewicz approached the podium, took a few moments to compose himself, and made the official announcement:
I have a short announcement to read, which I will read at this time. Senator Robert Francis Kennedy died at 1:44 a.m., June 6, 1968. With Senator Kennedy at the time of his death were his wife Ethel, his sisters Mrs. Stephen Smith, Mrs. Patricia Lawford, his brother-in-law Mr. Stephen Smith and his sister-in-law Mrs. John F. Kennedy. He was 42 years old. Thank you.
AFTERMATH
Hubert Humphry the Vice President would go on to win the Democratic nomination, he would lose to Richard Nixon by a short margin of .7% of the popular vote ending the over 30 year New Deal coalition in the Democratic party, leading to a new era of American politics dominated by the Republican party, who would go on to win 5 of the next 6 elections.
The bright optimism of the 1960s started by Robert Kennedy’s brother Jack Kennedy when he won the election of 1960 promising to usher in a youthful new age in America gearing towards a brighter future seemed to be over.
Juan Romero, the busboy who shook hands with Kennedy right before he was shot, later said, "It made me realize that no matter how much hope you have it can be taken away in a second."[95]
Jack Newfield, a reporter who had been traveling with the campaign, expressed his feelings on the effect of the assassination, closing his memoir on Kennedy with:
Now I realized what makes our generation unique, what defines us apart from those who came before the hopeful winter of 1961, and those who came after the murderous spring of 1968. We are the first generation that learned from experience, in our innocent twenties, that things were not really getting better, that we shall not overcome. We felt, by the time we reached thirty, that we had already glimpsed the most compassionate leaders our nation could produce, and they had all been assassinated. And from this time forward, things would get worse: our best political leaders were part of memory now, not hope. The stone was at the bottom of the hill and we were all alone.
At his eulogy, his younger brother Ted Kennedy gave this speech…
-Insert Ted Kennedy speech-
Kennedy was buried at Arlington National Cemetery near his brother. A memorial installed on the site in 1971 includes passages from his improvised speech in Indianapolis on the night that King was killed:
Aeschylus wrote: “In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black …
Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.
Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.
Robert Francis Kennedy would have been 95 years old today,
Martin Luther King JR would have been 92
John F. Kennedy 103
“The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around...But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.” - MLK, April 3, 1968
Post note- I wanted to thank and give credit to youtubers Mohammad Azzam and Conrad Boehner for making the video of RFK and Ted Kennedy with the background music. I shamelessly stole it from them because I decided there was no way I could create a better combination. So thanks Mohammad Azzam and Conrad Boehner for these masterpieces! And go subscribe and check out their videos if you like