Remembering MLK and RFK
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 56 years ago, on April 4, 1968. In today’s video commentary, I recall the speech he gave the night before he was killed, and how those words still have meaning today. I also pay tribute to the improvised words of Robert F. Kennedy at a speech in Indianapolis, moments after finding out that Dr. King had been killed. These two men are the finest of patriots, and I explain why it is important to honor their legacy:
Note: If you would prefer to read the transcript, instead of playing the video right on this page/email, click on “Watch on YouTube” on the video screen below. At this point, you should be on the YouTube page or YouTube app. Scroll down past “Description” (section where it describes the content of the video) to “Transcript,” and then click on “Show transcript.” If you’re still having difficulty, visit youtube.com, and just search for “Steve Schmidt The Warning.” You’ll be brought to my YouTube channel. All of my videos are there, and you will see the "Transcript" option after each video description.
I lived through these times. JFK, MLK and RFK. And, 56 years on, they still move me with profound emotion. They were ‘existential heroes’. Thank you Steve Schmidt for so eloquently reminding us all of the meaning of purpose. Abraham, Martin and John (and Bobby). Although Abraham was long gone before my time; I miss them all.
Below is something Paul McCartney wrote about Beyoncé covering his song Blackbird. And although it bothers me to bring up the moron we have running for Governor of North Carolina, he has attacked Beyoncé as a “devil-worshipping skank.”
Here is what Paul McCartney wrote:
I am so happy with Beyoncé’s version of my song 'Blackbird'. I think she does a magnificent version of it and it reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place. I think Beyoncé has done a fab version and would urge anyone who has not heard it yet to check it out. You are going to love it!
I spoke to her on FaceTime and she thanked me for writing it and letting her do it. I told her the pleasure was all mine and I thought she had done a killer version of the song. When I saw the footage on the television in the early 60s of the black girls being turned away from school, I found it shocking and I can’t believe that still in these days there are places where this kind of thing is happening right now. Anything my song and Beyoncé’s fabulous version can do to ease racial tension would be a great thing and makes me very proud.