Evangelist Billy Graham has made a lot of friendships throughout the years, and one of the well-known figures he was able to call his friend was the late American Baptist minister and activist, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Billy's son Franklin talked about his friendship with King in a Facebook post. "They knew each other well. They traveled together some, and at least one time even stayed in the same room together!" he shared. "Dr. King's daughter, Bernice King, said, 'I think both Dr. Graham and my father were trying to make the world a better place...They were different obviously in their style and their approach, but I think their heart and their goal was the same.'"
Franklin could not agree more with what Bernice said. When Billy was holding an evangelistic Crusade in Chattanooga, Tennessee back in 1953, he was surprised to find that ropes had been set up to separate the Whites from the Blacks. Because faith does not separate people based on the color of their skin, Billy demanded that the ropes be taken down.
"He was appalled. He told the head usher to take down the ropes, but he wouldn't - so my father took down the ropes himself. He told the ushers who threatened to put them back up, 'Either these ropes stay down or you can go on and have the revival without me.' I appreciate the strong stand he took," Franklin said.
King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. At that time, Billy was in Australia, according to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. When asked about the tragic incident, Billy replied: "I was almost in a state of shock. Not only was I losing a friend through a vicious and senseless killing, but America was losing a social leader and a prophet, and I felt his death would be one of the greatest tragedies in our history."
