Elijah Lewis: “I think it is fitting and appropriate that we pause, as a Nation and as a people, to remember the life of Dr. Martin…”

“I think it is fitting and appropriate that we pause, as a Nation and as a people, to remember the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who changed America forever. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. He had emerged as a leader, not just for a people, but for a Nation. His leadership and commitment to a truly interracial democracy played a key role in ending legal segregation in America. He led the first major nonviolent campaign in modern America when he emerged as the leader of the Montgomery bus boycott that lasted 381 days. He inspired thousands and thousands of people to follow the way of nonviolence. In doing so, he inspired other movements and had an effect on so many young people and some not so young. Just think, a few short years ago, in America, there were signs that said, 'White women, Colored women,' 'White men, Colored men,' 'White waiting, Colored waiting.' There was segregation in public accommodations and transportation. Men and women of color could not even register to vote. Dr. King created a climate, created an environment that the power of the courts, the power of Congress, and the President of the United States couldn't look the other way; they couldn't say no. In his short life, he led the American people on a journey that is ongoing even today.”