Speeches of Robert F. Kennedy
Speeches of Robert F. Kennedy - Death of Martin Luther King
Voiceover over the following images. Color footage of police officers and spectators in Memphis right after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. "I am only going to talk to you for a minute or so this evening because I have some very sad news for all of you." BW footage of MLK marching in civil rights demonstration. " Could you lower those signs please? I have some very sad news for all of you and sad news I think for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and killed tonight."
Speeches of Robert F. Kennedy - Death of Martin Luther King
BW scenes of civil rights marches, including the one on Selma. Washington DC, smoke from the rioting that occurred after King's death. Riot damaged streets. "Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice for his fellow human beings, and he died because of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black, considering the evidence there evidently is that there were white people who were responsible, you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and a desire for revenge." Color footage of police arresting young African American men. Color footage of burning buildings during riots. BW Martin Luther King delivering the "I Have a Dream" Speech in Washington (no audio). Caucasian police officers assaulting black men with pepper spray and billy clubs. " We can move in that direction as a country, in great polarization, black people amongst black, white people amongst white, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love." RFK Delivering speech. "For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and distrust at the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I can only say that I feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed," People crying after learning of the assassination of JFK. RFK delivering speech. "but he was killed by a white man. But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to go beyond these rather difficult times. My favorite poet was Aeschylus."
Speeches of Robert F. Kennedy - Death of Martin Luther King
Color shot of MLK lying in casket. RFK Delivering speech. "He wrote: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God." What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another..." MLK being fingerprinted and having his mug shot taken after being arrested. Robert Kennedy visiting poor African American community in the rural south. RFK walking hand in hand with young Native American boy. "So I shall ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, that's true, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love, a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke." BW footage of MLK s funeral. Young Caucasian Anti-Vietnam protestors with signs. "We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times; we've had difficult times in the past; we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; it is not the end of disorder. But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings who abide in our land." Color footage of African Americans marching in Vietnam War protest. Color footage of police confronting hippies (1968 Democratic Convention). BW of RFK sitting alone on rocky outcropping looking thoughtful and sad. "Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people. Thank you very much." Cheers from the crowd.