On April 3, 1968, thousands filled the sanctuary to hear an address from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As Dr. King spoke in support of the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike, he called for nonviolent protests in the fight for economic justice. The remarks would become known as the “Mountaintop” speech, as Dr. King told those gathered that he had “been to the mountaintop” and had “seen the Promised Land,” adding the prophetic words, “I might not get there with you.” This speech was Dr. King’s last. He was assassinated the next day, April 4, 1968.
The church is one of several buildings included in the National Civil Rights Museum.
