Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I was a drum major for peace; I was a drum major for righteousness.

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke these words in his sermon “The Drum Major Instinct,” delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on February 4, 1968, in the final months of his life. In the sermon King critiques the human desire for recognition and status—what he calls the “drum major instinct”—and warns how it can be exploited through racism, militarism, and materialism. Near the end, he imagines his own funeral and asks that, instead of praising his awards or achievements, people remember him as someone who tried to lead in service to justice, peace, and righteousness.

King reframes ambition from self-glorification into moral leadership. The “drum major” image—someone who leads a parade—becomes a metaphor for the universal urge to be first, noticed, and admired. Rather than denying that impulse, King redirects it: the only worthy kind of prominence is prominence in service. By pairing “justice,” “peace,” and “righteousness,” he links civil rights to a broader ethical vision that includes nonviolence and spiritual integrity. The line also functions as a self-epitaph, underscoring humility and the idea that a life’s true measure is not honors received but the good pursued for others.