I’ve Been to the Mountaintop

As every year brings us closer to Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and ultimately the national holiday, I, like many people, reflect on his legacy and life work. As a part of my process, I like to listen to some of his most impactful and famous speeches.

His “I have a dream” speech is at the top of that list, undoubtedly. However, this year I was most moved by his “I’ve been to the mountaintop” speech, the last speech he gave before his assassination on April 4th, 1968.

This speech was given on April 3, 1968, at the Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters) in Memphis, Tennessee. His speech was in support of the Memphis Sanitation Strike taking place at that time. He called for unity, economic actions, boycotts, and nonviolent protest, while challenging the United States to live up to its ideals. It was an empowering speech and one that history would prove to be not only his last, but also one of his most prophetic.

One of the most poignant points of this speech was his reference to the parable of the Good Samaritan. For those who are not familiar with this story, it tells of a traveler who is stripped of clothing, beaten, and left half-dead along the road between Jerusalem and Jericho.

The Good Samaritan is the third person to pass the traveler laying on the road, yet is the first to help him. Dr. King explains that the Good Samaritan did not think, if I stop to help this man, what would happen to me?” Instead he reversed the question and asked, if I do not help this person what will happen to HIM?” Dr. King goes on to say that in similar fashion he is not concerned with his own personal safety. He stated, “It doesn’t really matter what happens to me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop.” He goes on to say, “I may not get there with you, but we as a people will get to the promise land.”

As I reflected on his words, I could not help but to relate his message to the social justice movements that we are entrenched in today. A movement that has been energized because of the spread of the Good Samaritan mentality. Whether it’s eliminating mass incarceration, advocating against broken immigration policies, replacing ineffective school systems, implementing juvenile justice reform, protesting against police brutality, gaining economic equality, promoting conscious environmentalism, or standing for LGBTQ rights, we can all agree that we are living in tumultuous times.

Times that require a level of selfless commitment that may feel uncomfortable at first, but will become soothing once embraced. Dr. King alluded to this fact when he admits that his own physical safety was in jeopardy at the time of this speech and, despite that, he continued to do “God’s work.” Times that require us to ask ourselves, if I do not stop to help, what will happen to them?

So I ask you, Good Samaritan, as I ask myself, what will happen to the voiceless if we do not use our voice on their behalf? What will happen to men and women incarcerated if we do not help? What will happen to children being sentenced to draconian and unjust lengths of imprisonment if we do not speak up? What will happen to the disempowered, disenfranchised and underrepresented, if we do not take a clear stance against oppression, inequality and brutality? What story and legacy do we want to leave the next generation of Good Samaritans? One that tells of our silence during times where injustice was pervasive? Or one that proves that we decided to place the well-being of others ahead of our own to build a society that enriches its members instead of deprives them? I encourage you to choose the answer that will, as it did Dr. King, lead us to the mountaintop as well.