By Jason Hancock

Photo courtesy of Grinnell College’s archives

It was an unusually warm day for October, and a crowd of nearly 5,000 people was packed into Grinnell College’s Darby Gymnasium to hear the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. speak. Unfortunately, he was running late.

“It was hot and uncomfortable sitting in that gym,” said Frank Thomas, who was a Grinnell student then and now serves as a senior counselor at the school. “People were still in good spirits, but we were definitely getting a little restless.”

King was running late, and he had to leave earlier than what had been planned, to report to a southern jail the next day to serve his 19th jail sentence for his involvement in the civil rights movement.

“During a recent trip to Memphis I went to the National Civil Rights Museum and the Lorraine Motel. In the motel room that King occupied when he was killed, I heard a taped interview with a man who stood with him when he was shot — I think it was Ralph Abernathy. He mentioned how he quickly removed a cigarette from Dr. King’s fingers because the chain smoker didn’t ever want children to see him smoke. The museum retained the dirty, overfilled ashtrays in the room, just as it was that day. I never knew he smoked either. That stark reality triggered some deep feelings that had begun to surface at the Stax Museum. I remembered the moment I heard about the assassination. I was in New Delhi with my best friend at the time, the African-American author Jan Dean Willis. We were listening to Nina Simone sing “Just Like a Woman” when we heard the news. “And she broke down, just like a little girl.” At the Lorraine this year, I wondered for the first time what all I personally had lost that day, without ever acknowledging it. Friends, innocence and idealism top the list. Soon after that day, I lost track of Jan for decades and also of just about every other black friend I had at the time, just like the musicians in Memphis went their separate, racial ways. I think now that James Earl Ray stole something from my generation. He turned us into our parents’ generation without us even realizing it. It’s hard to miss an entire ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts, unless your eyes are stuck in a kaleidoscope.” — Jim Duncan, Cityview food and art critic

The uncomfortable accommodations were quickly forgotten, however, once King arrived and began to speak. The speech he delivered that day, entitled “Remaining Awake During a Revolution,” discussed racial tension, nonviolent opposition to discrimination and ending the Vietnam War.

“He told the story of Rip Van Winkle, and how he awoke to a world that had changed around him,” Thomas said. “He said we were in the middle of a changing world, and we had to pay attention and be involved in order to save each other.”

What was amazing was not only what King said, but how he said it, slowly building cadence until the crowd was hanging on his every word.

And what commanding words they were. Thomas said he recently re-read the text of the speech and was amazed all over again by its power.

“I still marvel at it,” he said. “You could give that speech today, and except for a couple of dated references, it would still be relevant.”

The Grinnell speech, part of a symposium at the college that drew distinguished speakers such as author Ralph Ellison, jazz musician Louis Armstrong and former CBS News president Fred Friendly, was the last King ever made in Iowa. It was Oct. 29, 1967.

Five months later, King was killed by an assassin’s bullet in Memphis, Tenn. He was 39 years old.

King’s legacy

Friday marks the 40th anniversary of King’s death, meaning he has now been dead longer than he lived. But what an extraordinary life it was.

Photo courtesy of Grinnell College’s archives

At 26, he led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, fighting the city’s policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. At 33, he was making the case for civil rights with President John F. Kennedy. At 34, he galvanized the nation with his “I Have a Dream” speech. At 35, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Despite his short life, he left a legacy of hope and inspiration that continues today.

For the students at Grinnell College who were fortunate enough to hear his words in person that day in 1967, their lives would never be the same. His visit served as a riveting wake-up call.

“I think everyone was moved by the experience,” Thomas said.

At the time, there were about 40 black students on a campus of about 1,200, Thomas said. There were times when he could go all day without seeing another black face, which took a toll psychologically on the then 22-year-old Chicago native.

“After King spoke, we formed a group called Concerned Black Students,” Thomas said. “The speech served as an awakening for us, and that group still exists on campus today.”

But the hope that King brought with him that day was nearly shattered when he was killed the following spring.

The mood on the campus was extremely dark, Thomas said, and nearly everyone was devastated.

“I remember turning on my television and seeing kids being hosed down and having dogs chasing after them. Those things we tend to forget, but we can’t ignore that they happened. … Dr. King was about unity for all races, not just African-Americans, but it affected African-Americans the most because they were discriminated against. He stood for peace, equality, love for one another, living together, working together and respecting one another. He crossed the great divide and pulled people together, black, white and others, and I was saddened the day he died.” — Barbara Long, volunteer at the Eddie Davis Community Center in West Des Moines

“We’d just returned from Spring Break a little bit before, and in April the push towards finals is starting,” he said. “It was already a tense time, then the news came that Dr. King had been killed. I just can’t put into words what we felt at that moment. A lot of us were upset and angry.”

Wayne Moyer, director of the Rosenfield Program in Public Affairs at Grinnell who organized a symposium last fall to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King’s visit to the school, said news of King’s death sent a shockwave through every person of that generation.

“That whole period, from about April to June in 1968, there was a general fear that the country was coming apart at the seams,” Moyer said. “An entire generation was changed during that time.”

Thomas, as one of the leaders of the Concerned Black Students, began being asked to speak to small groups around the community about the events surrounding King’s death.

“I think I gave about 45 presentations the week after the assassination,” he said. “I spoke to everything from kindergarten classes to church groups.”

The basic message Thomas tried to get out to the groups he spoke with was that King’s death was

“I was in Vietnam when he was killed. It was so devastating. When King died, it didn’t make it any easier being black. He was our hope, our dream and all of the sudden he was gone. What did we have to believe in now? It had a hell of an impact.” — George Davis, Iowa Blues Hall of Fame musician

a tragic event, but the best way to honor the memory of the man was to listen to ideas and work towards his dream.

“The beauty of his message was that it pointed out that we are all equal,” Thomas said. “I just told them that we need to work to make his dream a reality.”

Photo courtesy of Grinnell College’s archives

Timeless dream

“Much of what he talked about that day is still very relevant today,” Moyer said. “His speech was timeless. His message about the need for societal change, alternatives to military force and his call for worldwide fellowship are even more pressing today.”

Grinnell commemorated the 40th anniversary of King’s visit with a weeklong symposium, which brought in speakers such as U.S. Congressman John Lewis, who marched with King as a leader of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee in the ’60s and who currently represents the Georgia district that includes King’s boyhood home and the famous Ebenezer Baptist Church where King preached.

“When he talked about life in the south during the ’60s, I think students were shocked,” Moyer said.

“Dr. King’s non-violent message of peace, hope and justice transcended the violence and oppression of his time. In commemorating his death, we can acknowledge the victories from our past and recognize how important they are to build upon for our future. Our population is growing more racially and culturally diverse everyday. This 40th anniversary of his slaying will remind us that Iowa must be welcome to diversity. Our civil rights law and its effective enforcement are an important signal that we are, we have been, and we will continue to be a state that embraces diversity.” — Ralph Rosenberg, executive director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission

But the highlight of the week was when students gathered to hear the audiotape of King’s address.

“You could tell the students were moved,” he said. “I think that, better than anything, helped give them some sense of what that time was like.”

Thomas said for those students who were able to comprehend the words and put them into context, the speech was a moving experience.

“But most of these kids grew up in an integrated world,” he said. “You can read about what it was like, but it’s just not the same.”

King’s words and actions had a deep impact on a generation, Thomas said, and his death marked a tragic conclusion to a great life.

“I had the opportunity to march with Dr. King in Chicago,” he said. “Then I had the chance to hear him speak at Grinnell. I feel blessed to have been able to experience his wisdom, but it made his death that much more tragic to me.”

His life may have ended, but his words live eternal.

“One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people find themselves in a great period of social change and yet they fail to develop the new mental attitudes and the new mental outlook that the new situation demands,” King said that day in Darby Gymnasium. “All too many people end up sleeping through a revolution.” CV

(Editor Michael Swanger contributed to this story. Read Michael's commentary here . . .)

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