And there were those who said that we would get here only over their dead bodies, (Well. All right) And in a real sense this afternoon, we can say that our feet are tired, (Yes, sir) but our souls are rested. And when she answered, “No,” the person said, “Well, aren’t you tired?” And with her ungrammatical profundity, she said, “My feets is tired, but my soul is rested.” (Yes, sir. But today as I stand before you and think back over that great march, I can say, as Sister Pollard said-a seventy-year-old Negro woman who lived in this community during the bus boycott-and one day, she was asked while walking if she didn’t want to ride. (Speak) Our bodies are tired and our feet are somewhat sore. Some of our faces are burned from the outpourings of the sweltering sun. We have walked on meandering highways and rested our bodies on rocky byways. We have walked through desolate valleys and across the trying hills. My dear and abiding friends, Ralph Abernathy, and to all of the distinguished Americans seated here on the rostrum, my friends and co-workers of the state of Alabama, and to all of the freedom-loving people who have assembled here this afternoon from all over our nation and from all over the world: Last Sunday, more than eight thousand of us started on a mighty walk from Selma, Alabama. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., “HOW LONG? NOT LONG” (25 MARCH 1965)
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