Before leaving Memphis, Oprah and Gayle made a pilgrimage to honor civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a man whose dream of equality changed America, and whose life continues to be a lesson in faith and courage.
On April 3, 1968, Dr. King gave what would be his final speech in Memphis, where he was helping a sanitation workers' strike. In what is called his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, Dr. King spoke like a man who knew he didn't have long to live.
The next day, he stepped out onto the balcony of the Lorraine Motel and, at 6:01 p.m., the man who fought a war without ever firing a gun was downed by an assassin's bullet. The civil rights leader was just 39 years old.
Published 01/01/2006
