The Reverend and Mrs. Martin Luther King gave birth to Michael Luther King Junior at noon on January 15, 1929. Michael who later changed his name to Martin became one of the most known civil rights leaders, advocating nonviolent protest against segregation and racial discrimination. On April 3, King arrived in Memphis, Tennessee where he was to lead a march of sanitation workers protesting against low wages and poor working conditions. That evening, King delivered his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech to a relatively small crowd that had braved the bad weather to hear King speak. King's thoughts were obviously on his mortality, for he discussed the plane threat as well as the time he had been stabbed. Local newspapers mocked King when he announced he was coming back to Memphis for a second round. Among other snipes and barbs, the local press criticized him for staying at a white-owned Holiday Inn, instead of the Motel Lorraine, which was black-owned. (Overbeck pg 2) Hoping to avoid further bad press in wake of the disastrous March 28 demonstration, not wanting to add to all the hatred that filled the air King switched his accommodations to a room at the Motel Lorraine, where this would prove to be a grave mistake on April 4. On the evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King and his friends were getting dressed to have dinner with Memphis minister Billy Kyles. King was in Room 306 on the second floor and hurried to get dressed since they were running a bit late. While putting on his shirt and using Magic Shave Powder to shave, King chatted with Ralph Abernathy about an upcoming event. Around 5:30 p.m. Kyles had knocked on their door to hurry them along. The three men joked about what was to be served for dinner. King and Abernathy wanted to confirm that they were going to be served "soul food" and not something like filet mignon. About half an hour later, Kyles and King stepped out from the motel room onto the balcony (Garrow 36-37). Many cheered on as the civil rights leader graciously out step on the second floor balcony of the Motel Lorraine. Roaring cheers from the crowd rose up as Martin Luther King stood there waving his hand with his heart warming smile and his good friend Reverand Jesse Jackson. Kyles was just a couple steps down the stairs and Abernathy was still inside the motel room when the shot rang out and the crowd’s cheerful spirit died.
On April 4, 1968 shortly after 1800 hours, Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot while standing on the hotel balcony of his second story room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee (Saferstein, 2014). King was in Memphis to support a sanitation workers strike and was on his way to dinner when he was shot in the head and neck area. King was rushed to a Memphis hospital and was pronounced dead shortly after 1900 hours. Martin Luther King Jr. was only 39 years old when he was assassinated (History, 2017). Forensic specialists stated that the bullet struck him in the jaw and severed his spinal cord. King was in Memphis the day prior to his assassination giving a speech at the Mason Temple Church in Memphis. In his speech, he seemed to have
Martin Luther King Jr was born on the 15th of January, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, known as Michael Luther King Jr and was than assassinated on the 4th of April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The world renowned Baptist minister and social activist had a massive impact on the American civil rights movement from the mid 1950’s until his assassination in 1968. Martin Luther King Jr’s up bringing was fairly pleasant and he was brought up with a great education. However, he had his couple of prejudices and traumatic experience through out his life. One of these including one of his friends who was a fair skinned boy who was told to tell King that he was no longer allowed to play with him because the children were now attending
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the most widely known civil rights activist of the 1960s. Although he most famous for his I Have a Dream speech, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote several more influential speeches for the Civil Rights Movement – an American movement that sought to extend equal rights to all U.S. citizens. During his lifetime, he was known for practicing nonviolence in the hopes to obtain social and economic equality of all African Americans. While this equality exists amongst the races today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not get to see the fulfillment of his dream. On April 4, 1968, he was assassinated on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee.
was was a minister and founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. King led the civil rights movement since the 1950’s, using non-violent actions to fight segregation. King faced much criticism in the later years of his life from younger black activists who favored a more violent, confrontational approach to bringing change. King was standing on a second floor balcony in the spring of 1968 when he was struck in the neck by a sniper’s bullet. About an hour after being rushed to the hospital, King was pronounced dead. News of King’s assassination was reported internationally and covered in newspapers, magazines, and the nightly new in the days that followed. Many of the front page articles covering it were not about his death, but rather various stories surrounding it, including violent acts like burning and looting. The article "Assassination Of King Sparks Negro Violence" appeared on the front page of The Valdosta Daily Times and reported the reaction of the black public to the violent act committed against such a passive and strong non-violent leader. In contrast, “An Hour of Need”, published in TIME shortly after King’s death, said “Even as that hope blossomed, an older blight on the American conscience burst through with the capriciousness of a spring freeze. In Memphis, through the budding branches of trees surrounding a tawdry rooming house, a white sniper’s bullet cut down Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., pre-eminent voice of the just aspirations and long-suffering patience of black America.” President Johnson called for an extraordinary joint session of Congress to hear “The President’s recommendations for action —constructive action instead of destructive action—in this hour of national need.’” He urged Americans to reject the violence and called on congress to pass the civil rights legislation entering the House for debate. On April 11, he signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968. In the climate of sorrow and guilt that engulfed
On August 28, 1963 Dr. King made his way to Washington Mall from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial to commit his speech to his fellow Americans. Dr. King commands his speech during an ironic period time of America history. African-Americans were frowned upon by the Caucasian. Not only the African-American had a difficult time fitting in, also Asians and Hispanics were discriminated and surrogated from the Caucasian population. The heartless Caucasian police officers would verbally command their racists’ hounds on the desperate but yet innocent African-American young adults and children. The inhuman Caucasian fire department used their almighty water hose on the nonviolent protesters, only because the protesters’ skins were darker than theirs.
Word spread like wildfire when the news of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination hit the public. As the leading civil rights activist in the 1960s, Martin Luther King Jr. preached words of peace and understanding among races. A well known name throughout the North and South, King gained extreme popularity within the African American community. When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated a wave of sorrow spread across the nation. With rage, sadness, and hopelessness in the public eye, clearly the assassination hurt more than just one man, it hurt a nation.
Scratching the Surface, Not Driving in Bullets or: Why White People are Such Morons A great number of people know who Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was. My generation has had the opportunity to learn about his work in the civil rights movement and his “I have a Dream” speech as early as elementary school. I’d venture to say that a fewer amount of people know that this icon was assassinated and James Earl Ray, a white man, was arrested as his killer. Unfortunately, an even smaller number of people have heard of, or have read about a remarkable civil rights writer named James Baldwin. Determining whom killed Martin Luther King seems to still be an issue because of the guilt of the white man.
On March 28th, 1968, as King led thousands of sanitation workers on a march through downtown Memphis, this led to an outbreak of violence. King returned to Memphis for the last time on April 3rd, declaring “because I’ve been to the mountaintop and I’ve seen the Promised Land.” He continued, “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.” The following evening the assassination took place as he stood on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on the evening of April 4, 1968 while exiting his hotel room. The news of King’s assassination left the African-American community shocked, disappointed and outraged. The assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. triggered various responses from the black and white communities. The black community’s main response was widespread violence throughout the United States, resulting in demises and military involvement, while a few decided to hold peaceful protests in King’s memory. Many in the white community celebrated, while others feared for their lives. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination fashioned a divide amongst the black and white populations, destroying lives, property, and necessitating the government’s
A) After Dexter Scott King heard Ray’s side to the story he said’ “Having met with James Earl Ray, I believe and my family believes this man is innocent”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American baptist minister, Civil Rights activist, and humanitarian. He was born on January 25, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia under the name of Michael King, Jr. Both he and his father later adopted the name of the German protestant leader Martin Luther in honor of him. King thrived at Booker T. Washington High School, graduating at the age of 15 before moving on to Morehouse College. For years, he had questioned religion, but in his third year of college, he took a bible class that renewed his faith. King later went on to study at Crozer theological seminary for three years. He met his future wife during his last year of seminary, and went on to receive his Ph.D in 1955 at the age of 25.
Martin Luther King, Jr. defines “civil disobedience” as a way to show others what to do when a law is unjust and unreasonable. As King stated in the letter from Birmingham, “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.” When Negros were being treated unfairly, Martin Luther King, Jr. stepped in to show people how to peacefully protest and not be violent. The dictionary definition of civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest (Webster Dictionary). That is what Martin Luther King, Jr. did when nothing was changing in the town after the law for public school to be non-segregated. In Antigone, Creon created an edict that states that nobody could bury Polynices’s body because he was a traitor to Thebes and his family. Under Martin Luther King’s definition of an unjust and a just law, Creon’s edict is unjust and degrades Polynices’ right to be buried because of lack of information and favoritism of one brother.
Martin Luther King Jr. was the most influential leader of the American Civil Rights Movement as he fought for the freedom of African Americans. King’s most influential speech is his “I Have a Dream” given on August 28, 1963.1 King himself was a man whom thousands of people admired. Martin Luther King Jr. uses an expressive tone in his speeches by using powerful imagery to his audience, reminding them of the challenges facing them and defeating racism. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired others to take action, lead by example, as shown in his speeches and promoted non-violence as a method for change. To begin with, Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929.2 His father, Martin Luther King Sr., who was a pastor, and his mother Alberta, who was a schoolteacher, raised both King and his two siblings.3 King was very religious because the three generations of men, starting with his great-grandfather, were all preachers.
Convicted for armed robbery in 1960, James Earl Ray escaped from Missouri State Penitentiary on April 22, 1967. Ray’s hatred for the black population and support for Nazism fueled his drive to assassinate pacifistic leader, Martin Luther King, Jr. During the civil rights era, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s strong political and religious presence caused him to be a potential target as many denounced his promotion of equality amongst blacks and whites in America. Moreover, with the use of a Remington rifle, Ray shot King from a bathroom window of a hotel located across the street from the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had a perfect view of King standing on the motel room balcony. On the eve of April 4, 1968, King was pronounced dead.
One of the world’s best known advocates of non-violent social change strategies, Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK), synthesized ideals drawn from many different cultural traditions. Recent studies of him emphasize the extent to which his ideals were rooted in African-American religious traditions which were then shaped by his education. The image of a social activist and leader was the result of extensive formal education, strong personal values and licit ethics. This excellence in leadership can be traced to his character which is shaped by his moral values and personality. We look at MLK and these traits to reveal the rationalization of his rise to transracial leadership in our society. Through studying the life and example of Martin Luther King, Jr., we learn that his moral values of integrity, love, truth, fairness, caring, non-violence, achievement and peace were what motivated him. King is not great because he is well known, he is great because he served as the cause of peace and justice for all humans. King is remembered for his humanity, leadership and his love of his fellow man regardless of skin color. This presence of strong moral values developed King’s character which enabled him to become one of the most influential leaders of our time. Integrity is a central value in a leader’s character and it is through integrity that King had vision of the truth. The truth that one day this nation would live up to the creed, "all men are created equal". No man contributed more to the great progress of blacks during the 1950’s and 1960’s than Martin Luther King, Jr. He was brought up believing "one man can make a difference", and this is just what he did. Integrity has a large effect on what we think, say and do, it is through King’s thoughts and actions that enabled so many people to have trust and faith in him. Through King’s integrity he believed that America, the most powerful and richest nation in the world will lead the way to a revolution of values. This revolution will change the way society views itself, shifting from a "thing-orientated" society to a "person-orientated" society. When this occurs, King believed that racism will be capable of being conquered and this nation will be "Free at last." King’s unconditional love for all humans was another value that strongly influenced his character and allowed him to have such excellent leadership ability.