31 march 1968 & martin luther king, jr speaks at national cathedral

#OTD Sunday 31 March 1968 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the 11am sermon at the National Cathedral (3101 Wisconsin Ave, NW). He was invited by the Very Rev. Francis B. Sayre, Jr. (white), the cathedral dean, to speak about the Poor People's Campaign, which was scheduled to begin on 22 April. He also took the opportunity to speak out against the Vietnam War. 

The title of King's sermon was "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution." He shared: “And one of the great liabilities of life is that too many people find themselves living amid a great period of social change and yet they fail to develop new attitudes, the new mental responses, that the new situation demands. They end up sleeping through a revolution.”

You can listen to it here and read transcript here. 

More than 3,000 Washingtonians packed the cathedral and another 1,000 sat outside on the Cathedral grounds and in the nearby St. Alban's parish.  

Your comments are welcome below. Did you or a family member attend King's sermon? Where were you sitting? What did you think of his sermon? How did you feel about the upcoming Poor People's Campaign? You may comment privately here.

Photo source: Courtesy DC Public Library. Photographer unknown.