The nation and countries around the world will pause Wednesday to remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

The civil rights icon was shot and killed 50 years ago today in Memphis, Tennessee. 

Seven years before his death, King visited Tampa. 

In 1961, he spoke to thousands of people at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory in Tampa, now the Tampa Jewish Community Center. 

"His speech was impressive," Doris Reddick said, who attended the event. "It was very heartwarming."

Reddick said her cousin worked hard to bring King to the Bay area. The national civil rights leader came to the armory to be the keynote speaker for the NAACP First Fall Freedom Rally. It was an event aimed to boost membership for the NAACP. 

“He just said it was our time,” said Clarence Fort, who was then President of the Youth Council for the local chapter of the NAACP. “We had to keep moving forward. We could not let up because if we let up we lose what we already gained. It was a motivational thing.”

The visit came before his famous "I Have A Dream" speech but it was still a big deal at the time. 

"It was really an encouraging and inspiring speech," said Rodney Kite-Powell, a historian with the Tampa Bay History Center. "I mean there had been progress but there was still quite a bit of progress to come. 

While his speech was a step toward progress, it was still controversial. 

"We got a lot of push back from the white community," Fort said. "They called him a rebel rouser, a trouble maker." 

Around 4,000 blacks and white traveled to the Armory to hear Kind speak. However, before people sat in their seats, the place had to be evacuated because of bomb scare. Once they realized there was no bomb, the crowd returned and King was able to deliver his speech. 

"I don't remember exactly the words he said, but I was so enthralled with the fact that Martin Luther King was here," Reddick said. 

After his 35 minute speech, King received a standing ovation. A well deserved response for such an inspiring speech. 

"I just think, I didn't really know until he spoke the rights we should have been enjoying and what we were being kept from enjoying," Fort said. 

"(At the time) schools weren't fully integrated by any modern consideration of that word, stores were still being integrated. Beaches, public pools, things like that hadn't been fully integrated yet. And people could lose faith after fighting for years after not seeing the accomplishments that they want to see. But Dr. King gave them that hope and they fought through and continued that struggle for civil rights," Kite-Powell said. 

No film exists of the visit and in fact, only one picture of the event remains in local archives.  

Still, the visit was integral in the integration effort that was ongoing in Tampa. King's speech aimed to give hope to local African-American leaders as they continued their fight for civil rights. 

A year before, in 1960, organizers had already held peaceful sit-ins at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Tampa. 

Remembrances are taking place throughout the day Wednesday at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, the site of King's death. Other local, national, and international remembrances of King are taking place at 6:01 p.m. Central Time, the moment of his shooting.