I've Been to the Mountaintop

by Martin Luther King Jr.

The last speech made by our century's greatest civil rights leader and orator. Delivered on April 3, 1968--the eve of King's assassination--this powerful speech of hope, persistence, and divine guidance captures the essence of King's vision.

Genres: History, Politics, Audiobook, Nonfiction, Race

48 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1990

About the author

Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the pivotal leaders of the American civil rights movement. King was a Baptist minister, one of the few leadership roles available to black men at the time. He became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956) and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (1957), serving as its first president. His efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Here he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means.

King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a national holiday in the United States in 1986. In 2004, King was posthumously awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.

Reviews

[Paige Norris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend listening to the speech.

[Anya · Rating 5 out of 5]

"But I wouldn't stop there. Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty, and say, 'If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the twentieth century, I will be happy.' Now that's a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding — something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up."

"Now, what does all of this mean in this great period of history? It means that we've got to stay together. We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the slaves fighting among themselves."

"Now the other thing we'll have to do is this: Always anchor our external direct action with the power of economic withdrawal. Now, we are poor people, individually, we are poor when you compare us with white society in America. We are poor. Never stop and forget that collectively, that means all of us together, collectively we are richer than all the nations in the world, with the exception of nine. [...] We don't have to argue with anybody. We don't have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. [...] And so, as a result of this, we are asking you tonight, to go out and tell your neighbors not to buy Coca-Cola in Memphis. Go by and tell them not to buy Sealtest milk. Tell them not to buy—what is the other bread?—Wonder Bread. And what is the other bread company, Jesse? Tell them not to buy Hart's bread. As Jesse Jackson has said, up to now, only the garbage men have been feeling pain; now we must kind of redistribute the pain. We are choosing these companies because they haven't been fair in their hiring policies; and we are choosing them because they can begin the process of saying, they are going to support the needs and the rights of these men who are on strike. [...] But not only that, we've got to strengthen black institutions. I call upon you to take your money out of the banks downtown and deposit your money in Tri-State Bank—we want a "bank-in" movement in Memphis. So go by the savings and loan association. I'm not asking you something we don't do ourselves at SCLC."

"Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness. [...] And so the first question that the Levite asked was, 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'"

[Jay DeMoir · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can only imagine what was going through King’s mind during his final days, let alone during this speech literally the night before he died. It’s eerie how prophetic this speech was. So powerful and poignant. I was left with goosebumps

[Different Is Beautiful · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Now, let me say as I move to my conclusion that we've got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point in Memphis. We've got to see it through. And when we have our march, you need to be there. If it means leaving work, if it means leaving school -- be there. Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike. But either we go up together, or we go down together.

Let us develop a kind of dangerous
unselfishness."

-Martin Luther King Jr. 1963


The audiobook has a original recording of Martin Luther King Jr saying the speech when he did that speech in public

[Rae Phoenix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend the audiobook version. Moving.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have heard parts of this speech many times but had never heard and read it in it's entirety until now. I read this for research for a paper I'm doing for my African American history course. I've always loved what I've heard of this speech. Many parts of it seemed to hit a chord. When I found out it was the last speech before he was assassinated it gave me chills to listen to it again with that in the back of my mind. While his "I have a Dream" speech is more well known I feel that this one is just as important.

[Julio Pino · Rating 5 out of 5]

I once had a student ask me if anyone had ever enjoyed "a timely death" and responded, "Sure. Martin Luther King". The King who spoke to a Black congregation in Memphis on the night before his murder on April 4, 1968 lived up to his name. He was a king from the Old Testament, like David searching for God and asking Him to save His people, even at the cost of personal sacrifice. He was a biblical prophet, invoking Moses and Jesus, among others, sent to pronounce judgment on the land of his birth and redemption to the captives within. He was a mystic who foresaw both tragedy and deliverance: "Like any many I should like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But, I'm not worried about that tonight". Death held no terrors for him. His mission was completed though his task lay unfulfilled: "I've been to the mountain, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you but I want you to know that as a people we will reach the Promised Land." King was beginning to make connections between civil rights and the Viet Nam War. He was turning his back on the presidential race that year to focus on his Poor People's March on Washington, D.C. He intuited he had to be silenced, but history would grant victory to his voice. As fine a speech as the Gettysburg Address or Franklin Roosevelt's First Inaugural. All three men had lived through trauma and fear, and through that baptism of fire carried a message of hope for the entire nation.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the 50th anniversary of Dr. King's terrible death, I found myself reading this in its entirety for the first time. Boy, if any hale and hearty person ever knew it was his last day on earth, it was Dr. King. He knew something beyond premonition that I wonder might one day be truly revealed. The speech reads like it's also a summary of everything he put into anything he ever spoke. Laced throughout are all of his hallmarks: the urgency of justice, the importance of now, the biblical references, the righteousness of non-violence, the value and the specifics of effective protest, the summary beginning halfway through, the grandiloquent phrasing, chapters of his personal history, and The Dream. It was as if he was saying, beyond the obvious: "This is all of me. This is what I do. I've done everything I can, but I'm being called away and can do no more." Less than 24 hours later, he was gone. Like Moses himself, Forces greater did not allow him into the Promised Land, but only a faraway glimpse.

[Filip Lubinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

MLK's last speech. He was murdered less than 24 hours later.

"What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. 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 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."

Dark days are to come. Racism is on the rise again. Be your brothers’ keeper.

Fite dem back.
-LKJ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYG5J...]

[Zoey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even as Dr. King gives practical instructions for the work to be done in Memphis, he exhibits conviction, courage, faith, gratitude, peace, and hope. He would not have chosen to live in a different era and thus avoided threats on his life. Aware of these threats, he remarkably expresses gratitude to God for allowing him to be in Memphis and to have seen all that he had seen. He expresses hope that the promised land lies ahead for America.

[elise george · Rating 5 out of 5]

So eloquent, and so many lines of it are still relevant today. I especially loved his analogy of the Good Samaritan. It’s not about what will happen to us if we stand up for the less fortunate, ostracized, disadvantaged — but what will happen to them if we don’t. Such a powerful and moving speech from such a brave, influential man.

[পাঠক · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable. Unbelievably tragic. Of course, a tragic hero of unbelievable proportions must, perhaps tragically, become, romantic. Now, I want to learn to understand all as human. That is what truth demands, in opposition to romance. No heroes, no villains, these are romantic nonsense. And this truth, happily, makes a human like him truly heroic.

[Bobby H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book is actually speech given in Memphis April 3, 1968- in anticipation of a march in support of striking sanitation workers. This would be his last speech as he was killed the next day.
While not well known as Letter from a Birmingham Jail or I Have a Dream, it is still powerful.

[Cage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very inspiring, but I would prefer it to be oratory as intended. Very historic and important.

[David Gaetke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such profound and relevant words given by a hero the day before his death

[DJ Meunier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chills.

You have to give it to MLK. He knew how to stir a crowd.

[Timothy Morrison]

Kind of sad, when you think about this being his final speech

[Bud Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in its entirety on MLK birthday.

[Opinionatedtosaytheleast · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!!! Amazing speech very insightful and prophetic.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't actually read this hardcover edition -- I read the text online here. The ending of this speech is particularly poignant knowing that he was shot the next day.