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THE ORGAN OF STUDENT EXPRESSION
Issue 7 Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia May Edition, 1968
Dr. Mays Delivers the Eulogy
EULOGY PUTS BLAME
FOR KING'S DEATH ON
AMERICAN PEOPLE
Dr. Benjamin Mays, president emeritus of
Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., gave the
eulogy for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at the
funeral. In it, he asserted that the American
people were in part responsible for Dr. King’s
death. Following are excerpts from the
eulogy delivered on the Morehouse Campus:
“... God called the grandson of a slave on
his father’s side and the grandson of a man
born during the Civil War on his mother’s
side and said to him ‘Martin Luther,
speak to America about war and peace.
Speak to America about social justice and
racial discrimination. Speak to America
about its obligation to the poor and speak to
America about nonviolence!’
“. . . I make bold to assert that it took
more courage for Martin Luther to practice
nonviolence than it took his assassin to fire
the fatal shot. The assassin is a coward. He
committed his dastardly deed and fled. When
Martin Luther disobeyed an unjust law, he
suffered the consequences of his action. Dr.
King never ran away and he never begged for
mercy.
“... This man was supra-race, supra-nation,
supra-demonimation, supra-class and supra-cul-
ture. He belonged to the world and to man
kind. Now he belongs to posterity.
“. . . We all pray that the assassin will be
apprehended and brought to justice. But make
no mistake; the American people are in part
responsible for Martin Luther King’s death.
The assassin heard enough condemnation of
King and Negroes to feel that he had public
support. He knew that there were millions of
people in the United States who wished that
King was dead. He had support. The
Memphis officials must bear some of the guilt
for Martin Luther King’s assassination.
“. . . We, too, are guilty of murder. It is a
time for the American people to repent and
make democracy equally applicable to all
Americans.”
200,000 Pay Final Tribute To
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
“I’VE SEEN THE PROMISED LAND”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the grandson of a slave who lived to become a Nobel Peace Prize
winner only to die by violence was laid to rest in his native Georgia Tuesday.
Between 150,000 and 200,000, according to police estimates, took part in the dramatic, solemn
and highly emotional march and services for King, who was slain at 39 by an assassin in Memphis
Thursday. King’s body was drawn across Atlanta in an old farm wagon by two mules.
A host of dignitaries, including Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Sen. and Mrs. Robert Kennedy,
Sen. and Mrs. Eugene McCarthy, former Vice President Richard Nixon, Mrs. John F. Kennedy, Gov.
Nelson Rockefeller, Gov. George Romney, and scores of other senators, representatives, as well as
notables of religion, the civil rights movement and show business were in Atlanta for the day of grief
and memories.
The day began with a late morning service at Dr. King’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, continued with
the march of 4.3 miles to the Morehouse College campus, where an open-air service was held. The
day was nearing its end when King’s body was lowered into a Georgia marble mausoleum in South
View Cemetery on a grassy slope within sight of Jonesboro Road.
The services and march were orderly, but some persons did succumb to the 80-degree heat. The
marchers sang such songs as “We Shall Overcome” and “Ain’t Gonna Study War No More,” but
when the marchers neared the Morehouse campus, they became silent.
(Continued on Page 7)
Mahalia Jackson weeps as she sings, "Precious Lord.."
Early Arrivals
TWO GREAT MEN:
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
The Morehouse College Glee Club
Directed by Dr. Wendell P. Whalum
The Heat, The Grief
and A Common Sharing of Tragedy