Free at last: King goes to his rest, Atlanta, Georgia. 1968-
“With more than 50,000 mourners from all over the world following, King’s earthly remains were borne on a simple country wagon pulled by two mules. It was fitting: A wooden wagon was basic transport for the disadvantaged and disinherited, the people he served in his very public ministry. King’s life was dedicated to service. He studied, strategized, exhorted, prayed, marched, pleaded, protested, negotiated and spoke, all to remedy long-standing injustices. “In his Gehenna he suffered vilification, numerous jailings, ’round-the-clock telephone threats, stonings, several bombings, a stabbing, repeated beatings, cross burnings, nervous exhaustion and, finally, an assassin’s bullet. King died serving the dispossessed, and they understood this and adored him for it. Country people would and did drop to their knees as he passed, bawling out, ‘de Lawd!’”
