Dr. King’s Last Speech

African American Economic Recovery Think Tank, LLC

African History Moment 2025

Dr. King’s Last Speech

On April 3, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave the speech that is now known as “I’ve Been to the Mountain Top.” In his speech he stated: “And our agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from [big corporations]. And so, as a result of this, we are asking you tonight to go out and tell your neighbors not to buy Coca-Cola in Memphis. Go by and tell them not to buy Sealtest milk. Tell them not to buy, what is the other bread? Wonder Bread. And what is the other bread company, Jesse? Tell them not to buy Hart’s bread.

“As Jesse Jackson has said, up to now, only the garbage men have been feeling pain; now we must kind of redistribute the pain. We are choosing these companies because they haven’t been fair in their hiring policies, and we are choosing them because they can be, in the process of saying they are going to support the needs and the rights of these men who are on strike. And then they can move on downtown and tell Mayor Loeb to do what is right. But not only that, we’ve got to strengthen Black institutions.

“I call upon you to take your money out of the banks downtown and deposit your money in Tri-State Bank. We want a ‘bank-in’ movement in Memphis. So go by the savings and loan association. I’m not asking you for something we don’t do ourselves at SCLC. Judge Hooks and others will tell you that we have an account here in the savings and loan association from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. We’re just telling you to follow what we’re doing. Put your money there.

“You have six or seven Black insurance companies in Memphis. Take out your insurance there. We want to have an ‘insurance-in.’ now these are some practical things we can do. We begin the process of building a greater economic base. And at the same time, we are putting pressure where it really hurts. I ask you low through here.”

This would become King’s last speech. The very next day, April 4, which was exactly one month to the day after the COINTELPRO memo was released, Dr. King became a victim of American terrorism against Black people. He was shot in the neck by a White supremacist sniper under the direction of the United States government.

Why? As one can see, according to Dr. King’s last speech and his writings, another side of Dr. King was developing. A side (MLK) that began to embrace Black Nationalist tactics and strategies as a means to achieve freedom, justice, and equality for Black people.

Author Unknown