Dr. Benjamin Mays April 9, 1968 Eulogy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Eulogy of Dr. Martin Luther King
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had two eulogies on April, 9, 1968. The first was given by his closest friend Ralph David Abernathy at Dr. King’s church Ebenezer Baptist Church, in Atlanta, Georgia. This eulogy between best friends wàs poignant and quite emotional. The second historic eulogy was given on the campus of Martin Luther King Jr.’s undergraduate college Morehouse College by Morehouse President Dr. Benjamin Mays. This is the reading I am doing today. On the 52th anniversary of the burial date of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Five days after his murder in Memphis, TN the nation was still torn apart with strife. Dr. Mays stepped forward and attempted to heal some of the open wounds that were inflicted on black and white communities by Dr. King’s murder. Dr. Mays and Dr. King had made a pact that either one of them would preach the eulogy of the other when either passed. Of course, Dr. Mays being much older than Dr. King always assumed that his former student would preach his eulogy not vice-versa. Yet, on that early Spring day in Atlanta, Dr. Benjamin Mays gave one of his most powerful speeches regarding his friend and former student, Martin Luther King, Jr. I hope you have the chance to listen to each word of the eulogy. It moved the crowd in attendance as well as the nation to understand that in order for Dr King's murder not to be in vain. The nation, this nation, had to change from a path of hate and bigotry to a path of love and equality.