By Terence Stewart
Reverend Samuel “Billy” Kyles, the only living person who was at Martin Luther King’s side at the time of his death, continued King’s legacy by encouraging more than 100 CCSU students, faculty and community members to “dream big” in a lecture he delivered last Thursday in Torp Theater.
“They say there’s six billion people in the world. But there is only one you,” said Kyles to an attentive audience that included CCSU President Jack Miller. “That makes you very, very special. I want you to use that specialness.”
Kyles warned students that they will face adversity when trying to accomplish their dreams. Yet he encouraged them to dream anyway.
“Sometimes we allow friends and others to shame us of saying what our dreams are,”said Kyles. “You don’t have to apologize for your dreams. They’re yours!”
Kyles added that because slaves, the Wright brothers and Martin Luther King dared to dream in spite of adversity, they achieved what was considered to be the impossible.
“They tried and they failed and they tried and they failed,” said Kyles of the Wright brothers. “But they wouldn’t give up. Because they didn’t give up on their dream, man has placed their footprints on the moon.”
Kyles recalled the numerous death threats King received while pursuing his dream of social and racial equality. The airplane King took to Memphis, Tenn. in 1968, for instance, was guarded all night because there were so many death threats against King’s life. In 1958, King was stabbed in the chest with a steel letter opener at his first book signing in New York City.
Despite the death threats, King spent his final moments helping others achieve equality. Kyles discussed the last two days of King’s life in which he was helping black public sanitation workers in Memphis obtain higher wages and fair workplace treatment.
Kyles recalled the “I’ve Been on the Mountaintop” speech King delivered the day before his death to rally community support for the black public sanitation workers. In this speech, Kyles said King predicted his early demise.
“We knew that [King] knew his time was short,” said Kyles. “He didn’t know when, but he knew. He didn’t know where, but he knew it was coming.”
King’s prediction was correct. The following evening while King, Kyles and civil rights activist Ralph Abernathy were socializing on the balcony of their motel room on April 4, 1968, King was assassinated.
“I got about five steps [from the balcony] and kapow!” said Kyles, as he remembered the chilling details of King’s murder. “The shot rang off. I looked back. [King] had been knocked from the railing and back onto the floor. I rushed to his side and there was a gaping hole in the right side of his face.”
Although they killed the dreamer, Kyles was quick to add that they could not kill King’s dream.
“The dream is still alive!” shouted Kyles as he received an arousing applause from the audience. “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”
Kyles ended his 30 minute lecture with a question and answer session from the audience. As Kyles exited the stage, he received a standing ovation.
Kyles’ lecture was part of CCSU’s black history month lecture series and was organized by CCSU adjunct professor Stephen Balkaran.