kennedy began his speech by announcing that king had been killed. he was the first to publicly inform the audience of king's assassination, causing members of the audience to scream and wail in disbelief. several of kennedy's aides were worried that the delivery of this information would result in a riot. once the audience quieted down, kennedy spoke of the threat of disillusion and divisiveness at king's death and reminded the audience of king's efforts to "replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love." kennedy acknowledged that many in the audience would be filled with anger, especially since the assassin was believed to be a white man. he empathized with the audience by referring to the assassination of his brother, united states president john f. kennedy, by a white man. the remarks surprised kennedy aides, who had never heard him speak of his brother's death in public. quoting the ancient greek playwright aeschylus, with whom he had become acquainted through his brother's widow, jacqueline kennedy, kennedy said, "even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of god."