MoJo blog: A youtube video: The Death of MLK, Jr.: RFK Said it Best

[flpoljunkie]

The Death of MLK Jr.: RFK Said It Best

It's been four decades since Martin Luther King, Jr., was shot and killed. On the occasion of this anniversary, there's much media coverage of his life and his death. In the all the years that have passed since that tragic moment, a flood of commentary has flowed. Yet it remains hard to improve upon what Bobby Kennedy said on the night of that assassination in Indianapolis, where he was campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. He spoke extemporaneously and had the hard task of informing the crowd of King's violent death. Here is the audio of Kennedy's remarks accompanied by a photo montage:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1F-rg26ZZw&eurl=http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2008/04/7860_the_death_of_ml_1.html

As many commentators have noted, there were riots in cities across America when people learned of the news of King's murder, but there was calm in Indianapolis that horrible night.

Two months later, RFK would be shot and killed. If you want to see actual footage of Kennedy speaking to the crowd in Indianapolis (with Italian subtitles superimposed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPYNb4ex6Ko&eurl=http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2008/04/7860_the_death_of_ml_1.html

http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2008/04/7860_the_death_of_ml_1.html

[Paranoid Pessimist]

1. Scariest Week of My Life -- I remember it as if was yesterday.

I was in the Army at the time, stationed at Fort McPherson, which is in the city of Atlanta. The MLK funeral caused the entire base to be put on on "alert," for the expected major race riots. I was in a special prototype unit that was supposed to provide film and video coverage of whatever, but our unit didn't have all our equipment yet.

I was grabbed up while off-duty walking and put into a "formation" of GIs, and no one would, of course, listen to me that I wasn't supposed to be there, I was supposed to be with my unit. But they passed out rifles, told us the bullets would be issued later, and we stood there in formation "at ease," though "ease" certainly was not an accurate description of where my "head was at" at the time.

All around me southerner soldiers were saying, "Hot diggity, I get to kill me some . . ." well, you know what they said. I was close to bursting into tears, which wouldn't have set well with the guys around me (I don't recall there being any black soldiers in that formation though many were stationed there; don't know where they were).

Fortunately, my lieutenant came and pulled me out of that formation, the funeral occurred but the "riots" of Atlanta never happened. and the orders sending me to Nam were rescinded and I was released from active duty at the end of that scariest of all years.

[flpoljunkie]

2. Thanks for sharing a very poignant remembrance.