At 18.01 of 4 April 1968 James Earl Ray had aimed his rifle on the balcony of the room 306 the Lorraine Motel. We at Mulberry Street in Memphis. In those moments he looked in Martin Luther King. Ray boomed a shot. King shot in the head fell. He died an hour and a half after. Ended at that moment the earthly parable of Martin Luther King. After that all hell broke loose on the streets of America. Robert Kennedy was in full campaign for the primaries, in Indianapolis. Was himself to inform those who had come to hear him. Improvised a speech on’ emotional wave that swept. He climbed onto a truck and uttered the following words:
“I have some very sad news for all of you. And, I think, sad news, for all of our fellow citizens and for peace-loving people all over the world.
And they are that Martin Luther King was shot and killed tonight in Memphis, in Tennessee.
Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and justice among humans, and died in advancing this fight.
In this difficult day, at this difficult time for the United States is perhaps appropriate to ask ourselves what kind of nation we are, and in which direction we want to proceed.
For those of you who are black, Since it seems clear that the perpetrators were white [the assassination], you might find yourself full of bitterness, of hate, by desire for revenge.
We could go in that direction as a country, toward an even greater rift, Blacks with blacks, whites with whites, filled with hatred for each other.
Or we can make an effort, How did Martin Luther King, to understand and to understand and replace that violence, the blood stain that has covered our country, with an effort to understand, with compassion and love.
For those of you who are black, and is tempted to let go to hatred and mistrust of whites, for the injustice of this gesture, I can only say that I can feel in my heart that kind of feelings: someone in my family was killed, and he also hands a bianco.
But now we have to make an effort in the United States, We must make an effort to understand, to overcome these difficult hours.
My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He wrote:
“Even in his sleep the pain that does not forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, as long as in our own despair, without that we want, received wisdom, through the majestic grace of God.”
What we need in the United States, It is not Division.
What we need in the United States, don't you hate.
What we need in the United States, It is not violence and rejection of the law, but is love, wisdom, and compassion towards each other.
And a sense of Justice for those who still suffer in our country, whether they are white or black.
We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've had in the past but we're going in the future.
It's not the end of violence. It's not the end of the rejection of the law. It's not the end of the disorder. But the vast majority of white people in this country and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together,
want to improve the quality of our lives, and want justice for all human beings that dwell in our land.
Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks called this way many years ago: tame the selvaggità of man and make gentle the life of this world.
Let us dedicate ourselves to this. And let's say a prayer for our country and for our people. Thank you very much”.
CIT. the translation from raistoria.it
Hector Parker
