Tears and hope as King remembered

By Matthew Price
BBC News, Memphis

There is the glint of a tear in the Rev Jesse Jackson's eyes.

Thousands gathered in Memphis to mark the anniversary

Forty years on from the death of his friend and fellow civil rights campaigner, it is an emotional time.

"In reflection, it hurts so much. He was 39 years old," he says.

Outside room 306 of the Lorraine Motel there is a wreath. Long ago they removed the actual concrete slab onto which Martin Luther King fell when he was shot.

The blood, fear and anger of 4 April 1968 have long gone, but Martin Luther King lives on here.

'Feeling his presence'

Alison Fouche works at the National Civil Rights Museum that has now been set up in the Lorraine Motel.

He [King] taught us how to live together and get freedom, without fighting Gareth Dorr, aged 11

"I work here, and still I get chills being here. I can feel his presence," she says.

Inside room 306, they have recreated the scene from the day. The bed has been slept in. A newspaper lies on the blanket. Cigarette butts fill the ashtray.

It is as if he has just stepped out.

Diverse crowd

Martin Luther King should not be seen as simply a hero for African-Americans. His greatest legacy does indeed lie in his successful fight against the racist laws which existed in the US less than 50 years ago.

Dr King is credited with ending racial segregation in the US

The campaign he fought, though, was aimed at improving conditions for all Americans. He fought poverty and injustice, and campaigned against the Vietnam war.

That helps to explain the diverse crowd which has gathered in Memphis to commemorate his life and death.

Among the umbrellas, in the pouring rain, there is Joyce Richardson. She is 50 years old and works for one of the local sports clubs in Memphis.

"This day means a lot to me. I was 10 years old when he was killed."

As an African-American, she grew up in a very different America to the one which exists today.

She remembers the day he was killed.

"I was at the Laundromat with my parents when the National Guard rushed in and told us to go home and get off the streets, because they feared there would be rioting," she says.

"Even at a young age I still knew what it meant and I remember being afraid.

"Today I'm not feeling so well, but this man gave his life - I knew that I should come down here and be here in the rain even with my toothache."

'Crazy America'

Nearby is Kurt Dorr, who is here with his sons, Austin and Gareth.

He [King] would be delighted by the voting and the energy, by what Barack's doing, what Hillary's doing The Rev Jesse Jackson

Most of the crowd is from the African-American community, but the Dorrs are among a number of white people who have come.

"We're here for school holidays," says Gareth, aged 11.

"We didn't know this was happening, but we're happy we're here. He was a good man. He taught us how to live together and get freedom, without fighting."

"I remember the 60s as a turbulent time," says Mr Dorr. "America was crazy and it was great to see Martin Luther King as a non-violent man. He knew he had to be non-violent otherwise his message wouldn't have worked."

"Funnily enough, I'm a conservative Republican. He meant a lot to us as well."

Legacy

Up in front, close to the spot where Dr King was shot, the speeches are starting to draw a crowd.

It is suddenly clear that there is still much to be done in America.

Speaker after speaker talks of the racism that still exists in this country. They talk of the struggle that Dr King would continue to this day were he still alive.

They ask whether, after the politicians and journalists have moved on from Friday's commemoration, America will tackle the very real problems that persist.

There is much to be proud of, of course. This year Americans may elect either a black man or a woman to the White House.

"He would be delighted by the voting and the energy, by what Barrack's doing, what Hillary's doing," says Rev Jackson.

"But he would work against the unfinished business."

Mr Jackson says his old friend would fight the poverty that persists and that he so detested, and the racism that continues to affect so many in this country. And of course there is another unpopular war he would be against.

That, though, is not to forget what he gave America, and Alison Fouche does not hesitate when asked what that legacy is.

"Me. African-American women, and African-American men, who have the freedoms our parents did not," she says.