ASSASSINATION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was known for his calm demeanor and rational approach towards the issues that were affecting himself and so many others in the African American communities around America in the 1960’s, so much so that this eventually lead to his downfall and assassination. As the Civil Rights movement gained more steam, there became an onslaught of young radical African Americans who followed the preaching’s of black nationalist Malcolm X which was calling for a more confrontational approach towards gaining equality. X himself publicly claimed that King’s tendency to protest in a non-violent manner was “criminal” because of the repression faced by Black Americans. Dr. King was also criticized for his tendency to support the fight for all injustices (specifically wage discrepancies and the Vietnam War) to which the radicals took offense to because they felt that their own problems should be at the forefront.
Dr. King headed to Memphis, Tennessee with other members of the Southern Christian Leadership Council (King was the founder and primary leader of the group) to plan a march on Washington to support a worker’s strike while the SCLC was in the midst of planning a March on Washington to lobby for legislation to help the poor. The March that was planned for later that year would not happen for King, as he never left Memphis. On April 4th, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was standing on the balcony of his hotel room with his colleagues when a sniper shot him in the neck. King was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead approximately an hour after the shot. He was 39 at the time of his death.
As the news of the assassination began to spread, rioting, which would include burning and looting of more than 100 cities. Even though President Lyndon B. Johnson was advocating against the riots, urging citizens to “reject the blind violence”, it is easy to imagine why they were occurring. The “apostle of nonviolence” as Johnson had called Dr. King had been murdered. A few months later, a man by the name of James Earl Ray was apprehended and arrested for the murder of Dr. King. Although there is some controversy surrounding Ray and his role in the assassination (specifically the notion that King’s family supports Ray), all of the evidence points towards Ray being the assassin.
Although truly horrific, Dr. King’s assassination did come with some positive benefit as only 5 days later, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, something that King and his comrades had been advocating so heavily for. President Johnson called the signing “a fitting legacy to King and his life’s work.” Like only someone as understanding as Dr. King could, he had very appropriate final speech the day before his assassination where he said: “I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”