Lent 1 - Week 3: Martin Luther King Day

Martin Luther King Day

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'The Meal That Never Was' 

Our Menu on Monday 17th January is based on “The Meal That Never Was” to commemorate of the life and achievements of Revd. Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

Revd. Dr Martin Luther King Jr was a civil rights leader in the United States of America from 1955 until 1968, to help get equal rights and race equality for African-Americans, many of whom hadn’t yet gained full rights and privileges in America at that time. 

Dr King Jr. saw this inequality and decided to take a stand and speak out, with one of his most famous speeches being the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in 1963.

In 1964, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. Sadly, four years later, he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

On the night of April 4, 1968, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. had planned to dine at the Memphis home of his friend Revd. Samuel Kyles. Church members had cooked a dinner in honour of the occasion and included Dr King's favourite foods: Fried chicken, ham, sweet potatoes, and sweet potato pie.

Revd. Kyles headed to Dr King's room at the Lorraine Hotel to pick him up for the 6 p.m. meal. Revd Kyles spent Dr King's very last moments with him, said to have picked out a necktie for the civil rights leader to wear to dinner, before the pair stepped out on the hotel balcony and King was tragically assassinated by a sniper.

That dinner went on to be known as “The Meal That Never Was”.