Martin Luther King Jr. delivers 'I've Been to the Mountaintop' at Mason Temple in Memphis, supporting striking sanitation workers, the night before his assassination.
At a Glance
- Date
- 3 April 1968
- Location
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Key people
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Category
- Civil Rights Movement
- Source
- Speech recording, April 3, 1968 · Stanford King Institute
What It Meant Then
It proved to be his final speech, ending with a meditation on his own mortality.
What It Means Now
The address is read as prophetic and is among his most studied orations.
Cite this page
- MLA
- “King Delivers His 'Mountaintop' Speech.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/on-this-day/king-delivers-his-mountaintop-speech/.
- APA
- Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). King Delivers His 'Mountaintop' Speech. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/king-delivers-his-mountaintop-speech/
- Chicago
- Black-History.com Editors. “King Delivers His 'Mountaintop' Speech.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/king-delivers-his-mountaintop-speech/.
Editorial Note
By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.