In The Name of Love- A tribute to Martin Luther King

Songfacts:

This is a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. An exhibit dedicated to the civil rights leader was on display at the Chicago Peace Museum in 1983 when the band visited the US.
Bono is speaking about those throughout history who have died because they preached of the equality of all men and practiced non-violence as the only way to achieve their goal of having this equality universally recognized.
MLK is the primary example of non-violent resistance as the only way to bring about changes in civil rights. But there are allusions to others; Christ for example.
The song is about singular "people" (including Christ as man) that lived their life with pride. Not in a boastful way, but with the pride a person has when their thoughts and actions are motivated by their understanding and full awareness of the dignity and sanctity of ALL human life.
This began as a song about US president Ronald Reagan. Bono had lyrics written condemning Reagan for an arrogant pride that led to nuclear escalation.
King was killed on a Memphis motel balcony on April 4, 1968. Bono sings "early morning, April 4," but King was actually killed in the evening. Bono has acknowledged the mistake and sometimes sings it as "early evening, April 4."

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