Watch excerpts from Robert F. Kennedy’s speech on April 4, 1968, in which he delivers news of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to a crowd attending a political rally, in this digital short from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. Kennedy, who was campaigning at the time for the Democratic nomination for president, addressed a gathering of primarily African Americans in Indianapolis. Included among them was John Lewis, a civil rights leader and, later, congressman from Georgia. During the improvised speech, as Kennedy tries to calm those hearing his words—most in disbelief—he recalls the death of his own brother at the hands of a white assassin. His heartfelt message and healing tone have been widely credited with preventing unrest in the Indiana capital that night.