Rev. Billy Kyles was the last person I interviewed for 'Summer of '68.' Staring that book deadline in the face, almost out of advance money, I flew to Memphis and we spoke at Kyles' office in the Monumental Baptist Church. We talked for two hours about another tumultuous time in American history -- when Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated.
I needed to know how the civil rights group led by King, which included Rev. Kyles, was able to hang together despite such shock and sadness.
"As you can imagine, it was a very, very difficult evening," Kyles told me. "I have never felt so sad, so angry, so lonely in all my life. But we found a way to carry on. We knew it was important to carry on Dr. King's message to the world. We decided that night that you can kill the dreamer, but you cannot kill the dream."
As you may know, Memphis was one of the few cities that didn't erupt into riots and destruction that evening. Another was Indianapolis, where presidential candidate Robert Kennedy spoke to a large crowd, urging them to be calm, keep the faith and find a way to move ahead with the good work that always needs to be done.
