r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/amarchivepub • 20h ago

Video #OnThisDay in 1968- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated

1.4k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

36

u/amarchivepub 20h ago

#OnThisDay in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated at his motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

The night before, in what felt like a premonition, King delivered his powerful "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, reflecting on his life and legacy. The next day, unidentified reporters broke the tragic news of his shooting and eventual assassination.

Listen to these moments in KUT Radio’s “In Black America: Tribute to MLK” through the American Archive of Public Broadcasting: https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-367b02c29cb

59

u/FishCommercial5213 20h ago

We need this kind of strength and leadership today, more than ever!

6

u/Plastic_Canary9268 12h ago edited 1h ago

We need more than 1 voice and ppl to actually fight. Otherwise, it's gonna be the same result. Together, we stand and divide we fall The politics of today have us more divided than anything. It's time to weed out the evil and get this continent (the americas) back on track

2

u/FishCommercial5213 6h ago

Yes, but great inspiring leadership damn well help a lot.

30

u/Brilliant_Effort_Guy 20h ago

When my youngest son was in first grade, he came home after learning about MLK jr at school and told me what he’d learned. We talked for a while and then he said ‘it’s so sad that someone shot him on accident.’ 👀 I was like baby, that was no accident. I understand first graders can’t comprehend what assassination is and why someone would do something so evil but still. This is how historical rewrites of history happen.

17

u/BunBunPanchi 17h ago

It’s amazing how awe inspiring this speech still is. It gives me goosebumps to hear, despite having heard it dozens of times.

15

u/Inevitable-Peace7 19h ago

An era when some of the greatest leaders were lost.

8

u/No_Kangaroo_2428 14h ago

RIP Dr. King.

13

u/Effective-Bee-7934 19h ago

Another sad day in our pathetic history.

27

u/Adventurous_Yam_8153 19h ago

We have forgotten his message in favor of identity politics. We allow corporations to be the voice for altruism now instead of neighbors and friends. 

16

u/psillysidepins 18h ago

MLK’s dream is the antithesis of identity politics. Populations are easier to control if you can fracture them into a million smaller tribes and keep them barking at each other saying it’s the other’s fault for the state of things. Corporations learned this decades ago as a union busting strategy.

6

u/SweeterGrass 17h ago

Anyone else feel weird about upvoting the post?

Damn, if only this man was able to keep spreading his message of love and tolerance we would be in a better place.

3

u/ericd50 12h ago

Yes. If I upvote then I support it? But I want to boost visibility. So conflicted.

3

u/JPRockstar27 14h ago

Now we wait for the assassination files to be declassified

9

u/Charming_Marsupial56 19h ago

Truly sad. Would have done great things

12

u/AppropriateScience71 18h ago

He actually did great things.

Including playing central roles in the Montgomery buss boycotts that overturned bus segregation, passing the civil rights act and voting rights act, and as a major driver of the whole civil rights movement.

That said, I agree he would’ve done much more.

2

u/Hawk_Rider2 13h ago

I was nine years old

1

u/HalfNomadKiaShawe 12h ago

And likely by the US govt. too. Don't worry though, he got a holiday, so it's all good!

/s

1

u/GabeDef 9h ago

I bought a recording of some of King’s speeches (including this) while I was in college. I used to listen to those recordings from time to time. They were moving, inspirational, and timeless. This man had an extraordinarily powerful ability to preach and to lead. 

1

u/KindWordInPassing 7h ago

Why are people upvoting a racially motivated crime against a minority religious Hero?

🤔Must be instant gratification of entering Heaven that’s why.

1

u/DueAcanthisitta498 6h ago

God unable to save

1

u/chuck_19988 6h ago

When I listen to MLK’s last speech, it really feels like he knew his life was coming to an end. The way he said he wasn’t fearing any man—he sounded ready, like he had made peace with whatever was coming. And after he died, it’s powerful how people started to say we’d reached the Promised Land. It’s like he saw it ahead of time, even if he didn’t make it there himself.

1

u/Redgecko88 2h ago

Beautiful soul.

1

u/London__Lad 2h ago

That was Robert Kennedy announcing MLK's death. I strongly suggest you watch the entirety of Kennedy's speech. It's mesmerising.

0

u/Massive-Hedgehog-201 2h ago

Why is he not on mt Rushmore?

-2

u/[deleted] 17h ago

[deleted]

-4

u/GodsBeyondGods 20h ago

See Eye Eh

2

u/hardlybrowne 19h ago

^^ *whistling* ^^

-5

u/Defiant-Squirrel-927 17h ago

This picture was probably originally in color.

-7

u/jo25_shj 12h ago

Luther King was even worse than Eptsein.  One time he was witnessing a rape in a hotel room. Instead of stopping it, handwritten notes in the file say he encouraged the attacker to continue. Like Gandy was a pedo. Most leftist don't give a shit about human life, they prefer shitty symbol.

6

u/National-Size-7205 11h ago

That accusation is just that, an accusation. Never sustained or verified. Know what was verified? The FBI trying sending him a card telling him he'd be better off dead and trying to pass it off as being sent by someone else.