Jesse Jackson gives Memphis perspective
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson gave the Memphis Tigers a personal history lesson before the team left for the Final Four.
Jackson is in Memphis for the 40th anniversary commemoration of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. He met with the Tigers before they left for San Antonio to face UCLA on Saturday and watched some of the team’s practice.
“I think Dr. King would find this a source of joy,” Jackson told reporters. “After all, this couldn’t have happened 40 years ago in Memphis. Now we see the flowering and the blossoming of Dr. King coming here 40 years ago.”
Coach John Calipari had printed copies of King’s biography and planned to read King’s “I Have a Dream” speech with the Tigers before leaving town.
Jackson was in the parking lot when King was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968.
Jackson talked to the team about the civil rights struggle, and how the colors that matter now involve uniforms, not race.
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