A speech on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. was given by New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy on April 4, 1968, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Kennedy was campaigning for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination. He had spoken at the University of Notre Dame and Ball State University earlier that day.
During his speeches at both universities, Kennedy focused on domestic issues, the Vietnam War and racism. His speech at Ball State was well received by over 9,000 students, faculty, and community members. One African-American student raised a question to Kennedy that seems almost premonition of the speech to come later that night after the horrific events of the day. The student asked, “Your speech implies that you are placing a great deal of faith in white America. Is that faith justified?” Kennedy answered, “Yes” and added that “faith in Black America is justified, too” although he said there “are extremists on both sides.” Before boarding a plane to fly to Indianapolis, he learned that Martin Luther King, Jr. had been shot. On the plane to Indianapolis, Kennedy told a reporter "You know, it grieves me...that I just told that kid this and then walk out and find that some white man has just shot their spiritual leader." Kennedy did not learn that King was dead until his plane landed in Indianapolis. According to reporter John J. Lindsay, Kennedy "seemed to shrink back as though struck physically" and put his hands to his face, saying "Oh, God. When is this violence going to stop?"
Both Mankiewicz and speechwriter Adam Walinsky drafted notes immediately before the rally for Kennedy's use, but Kennedy refused Walinsky's notes, instead using some that he had likely written on the ride over; Mankiewicz arrived after Kennedy had already begun to speak. The Indianapolis chief of police warned Kennedy that the police could not provide adequate protection for the senator if the crowd were to riot, but Kennedy decided to go speak to the crowd regardless. Standing on a podium mounted on flatbed truck, Kennedy spoke for just four minutes and fifty-seven seconds.
Speech on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Kennedy was the first to inform the audience of King's assassination, causing members of the audience to scream and wail. Several of Kennedy's aides were worried that the delivery of this information would result in a riot. Once the audience quieted down, Kennedy spoke of the threat of disillusion and divisiveness at King's death and reminded the audience of King's efforts to "replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love." Kennedy acknowledged that many in the audience would be filled with anger, especially since the assassin was believed to be a white man. He empathized with the audience by referring to the assassination of his brother, President John F. Kennedy by a white man. These remarks surprised Kennedy aides, who had never heard him speak of his brother's death in public. Quoting the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus, whom he had discovered through his brother's widow, Jacqueline Kennedy, Kennedy said, "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." Kennedy then delivered one of his most well-remembered remarks: "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, and a feeling of justice towards those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black." To conclude Kennedy reiterated his belief that the country needed and wanted unity between blacks and whites and encouraged the country to "dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and to make gentle the life of this world." He finished by asking the audience members to pray for "our country and our people."
Aftermath
Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery that includes text of speech.
Despite rioting in other major American cities, Indianapolis remained calm the night after Kennedy's remarks, which is believed to have been in part because of the speech. The speech itself has been listed as one of the greatest in American history, ranked 17th by communications scholars in a survey of 20th century American speeches. Former US Congressman and media host Joe Scarborough said that it was Kennedy's greatest speech, and was what prompted Scarborough into entering into public service. Journalist Joe Klein has called it "politics in its grandest form and highest purpose," and said that it "marked the end of an era" before American political life was taken over by consultants and pollsters. It is also featured as the prologue of his book, Politics Lost.
The site of the speech is now marked by the Landmark for Peace Memorial in Indianapolis.
Film
A documentary on the speech and the events surrounding it, entitled A Ripple of Hope, was produced by Covenant Productions at Anderson University for release in spring 2008. It includes interview with associates of Kennedy and members of the audience.
(source:wikipedia)
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