Assassination

Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis Tennessee. Martin and the SCLC were preparing for a planned march to Washington. They were going to lobby Congress on behalf of the poor. Before they could complete the march they were called to Memphis to support a sanitation workers' strike. On April 3, 1968 Martin Luther King Jr gave a speech at the Mason Temple Church. King ended his speech with these now historic words: " 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." 

Martin Luther King Jr and associates we're staying at the Lorraine Motel. Just a little after 6 p.m. on April 4, 1968 Martin was standing on the second floor balcony of the motel when he was struck in the neck by a sniper's bullet. He was rushed to the hospital and just about an hour later Martin Luther King Jr was pronounced dead at the age of 39. 

King's death sparked riots in more than one hundred cities around the country.  These riots included burning and looting.  President Lyndon B Johnson urged Congress to speedily pass the civil rights legislation. He said it would be a fitting legacy of Martin Luther King Jr's life's work. On April 11, 1968 President Lyndon B Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 also known as the Fair Housing Act. 

Several months after King's assassination on June 8, 1968 authorities captured a suspect in his murder. The suspect they captured was a small-time criminal named James Earl Ray. He was captured at London's Heathrow Airport. James Earl Ray had been seen running from a boarding house near the motel where King was killed. Authorities said that the shot that killed King came from the bathroom in that boarding house. His fingerprints were found on the rifle used to kill MLK. They also found his fingerprints on a scope and a pair of binoculars. On March 10, 1969 James Earl Ray pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 99 years in prison for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. There was no testimony heard at his trial. He later recanted his confession and claimed that he was the victim of a conspiracy. Though the US government conducted several investigations into the trial, and each time confirming James Earl

 Ray's, guilt there is still controversy surrounding King's assassination. James Earl Ray died in 1998. 

Both blacks and whites alike mourned the death of Martin Luther King Jr. But in some ways it served to widen the tension between blacks and whites. Many blacks saw King's murder as a rejection of their hard-driving pursuit of equality. His death also radicalized many moderate African American activists.

RFK gave this speech in Indianapolis and after he gave this speech this city was the only city to not see riots. He would be assassinated 63 days later. 

Citation:

"Martin Luther King JR Assassination." History Channel. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 5 Dec. 2015.

Photo Credit:

http://blog.genealogybank.com/46th-anniversary-of-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-s-assassination.html

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/March-April-08/On-this-Day--Martin-Luther-King-Jr--Assassinated-in-Memphis.html

http://swampland.time.com/2013/04/04/time-looks-back-martin-luther-kings-assassination/

http://thekingcenter.org/archive/theme/4805

http://englishteacherx.blogspot.com/2015/10/assassination-tourism-part-2-civil.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/04/martin-luther-king-jr-causes_n_5090748.html