This Day in History:
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Is Assassinated April 4, 1968 King was shot and killed
as he stood on the second floor balcony
of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN. The “apostle of nonviolence”
had gone to Memphis in support
of a sanitation workers' strike. Widely recognized as the
most prominent face of the
American Civil Rights Movement,
Dr. King was just 39 years old. In a prophetic speech the night
before his murder, King stated
that, “I’ve seen the promised
land. I may not get there with you." Petty criminal James Earl Ray
was arrested two months later
and eventually pleaded guilty
to King's assassination. After being sentenced to 99 years
in prison, Ray recanted his confession.
Questions of a conspiracy to
assassinate Dr. King continue to linger. King's death sparked
riots in more than
100 American cities. On April 9, tens of thousands of
mourners lined the streets of
Atlanta, GA, to pay their respects on
the day the civil rights icon was laid to rest.