On April 21, 1968, just over two weeks after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., thousands attended the Friendship Rally at the Hollywood Bowl to mourn the devastating loss. Featuring appearances by Eartha Kitt, Richard Pryor, Barbra Streisand, Leonard Nimoy, Quincy Jones, Lou Rawls, and dozens more, the benefit event was sponsored by King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Greater Los Angeles Urban League.
As attendee Steve Chase told the Los Angeles Times in 1996, “This was a solemn day, but it was also a day of solidarity with other human beings…There was a hum in the air, and people were moved by things and gravitated toward one another when something happened like the killing of Dr. King. Because we couldn’t make sense of it, we needed to be with others who shared the sense of uncertainty we felt.”
From the stage, In the Heat of the Night actor Rod Steiger urged the audience to not lose hope. “This is no longer a time to weep, or to mourn,” he said. “We are here today to act, to build, to construct, and we are here today to guarantee the future exists without the ignorance, without the evil of prejudice.”
The Bowl held a second SCLC fundraiser on July 17, 1968, for a sold-out crowd of 17,356 people, raising $140,000 (about $1.3 million today) through donations and ticket sales according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Nearly 60 years later, Dr. King’s words still resonate.
We have come a long, long way, but we have a long, long way to go before the problem of racial injustice is solved.”
As we celebrate his legacy and honor his life’s work, we continue to recognize both our progress and our responsibility of promoting equality, justice, and love.