...Dr. Martin Luther King’s Funeral and Assassination 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. A single shot killed 39-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. At the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, a sniper from about “50-100 yards away,” shot and struck Dr. King’s neck, while instantaneously killing him (“Martin Luther King Slain” 139). From the crime scene, F.B.I. investigators traced a “white Mustang automobile,” and an “‘unusually large’ amount of physical evidence” (Waldron 1). With fingerprints, the actual rifle, and eyewitnesses as definite pieces of evidence, F.B.I. agents concluded that a Caucasian man executed the assassination and that he would be very easily caught (Waldron 1). Eyewitness testimony even stated that the “saw a white man [ran] from the house immediately after the shooting” (“Martin Luther King Slain” 140). As a shocking and horrific event, the assassination of Dr. King proved to test the nation’s character. Shortly...
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...Throughout history, there have been assassinations of prominent people in American history. We can reference the murder of President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer due to President Lincoln's stance on abolishing slavery. Another example we can reference was President John F. Kennedy assassination by Lee Harvey Oswald. There was never a concrete reason although, President Kennedy was at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement by pressuring Congress to pass a bill combining civil rights measures into legislation. My documentary is about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., assassinated as he championed the Civil Rights Movement. Very influential in the African-American community, Dr. King championed the Civil...
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...“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King was a Baptist minister and social activist, who lead the civil rights movement in the United States form the mid – 1950’s until his death by assassination in 1968. That day, King was assassinated as he stood on the second floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel. On May 7, 1968, the Shelby County criminal court named James Earl Ray in an indictment for the first-degree murder of King. Many people have been trying to decide whether his assignation was justified or unjustified. In my opinion, his assassination was not justified . it was not justified because he peacefully protested, he did not physically harm anyone, and he did good things for the entire country....
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...Edwards English 9 H 22 January, 2024. Effects after the MLK Assassination and RFK’s Remarks. The MLK Assassination and the RFK Speech affected the people by banding the people together, and leading the people to protest non-violently for equal rights in honour of MLK and RFK. To start off, we have Robert F. Kennedy’s remarks on the MLK Assassination. Robert F. Kennedy in his STATEMENT ON ASSASSINATION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR, states “I have bad news for you, for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and killed tonight. Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice for his fellow human beings, and he died because of that effort.” This quote from RFK’s statement on the...
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...Dr. Martin Luther King’s Funeral and Assassination 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. A single shot killed 39-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. At the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, a sniper from about “50-100 yards away,” shot and struck Dr. King’s neck, while instantaneously killing him (“Martin Luther King Slain” 139). From the crime scene, F.B.I. investigators traced a “white Mustang automobile,” and an “‘unusually large’ amount of physical evidence” (Waldron 1). With fingerprints, the actual rifle, and eyewitnesses as definite pieces of evidence, F.B.I. agents concluded that a Caucasian man executed the assassination and that he would be very easily caught (Waldron 1). Eyewitness testimony even stated that the “saw a white man [ran] from the house immediately after the shooting” (“Martin Luther King Slain” 140). As a shocking and horrific event, the assassination of Dr. King proved to test the nation’s character. Shortly...
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...Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, ‘“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter’” (Luther and Melvin). Martin Luther King Jr., the man with a dream, fought through discrimination to enable United States citizens to live more peacefully. Due to his work during the Civil Rights Movement and his tragic death, Martin Luther King, Jr. left a legacy of equality in America. As a child Martin Luther King, Jr. experienced racial discrimination first hand. Due to his skin color, King’s “friends” refused to play with him at a young age (Dubovoy). King stood emotionally wounded for the rest of his life, when his own best friends betrayed him. King did not want his children or anyone to feel discriminated against due to their...
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...Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination | History class Fall semester Nov. 22/ 2011 | Susan Kennedy | The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968 was a tragic blow, not only for the civil rights movement but also for the rights movement of all lower class citizens in America. Dr. King represented one of the few voices in 1968 able to form any type of consensus among increase-polarized groups in society. His death inaugurated a period of some of the worst race riots in American history. However, his death did not signal a end to the Civil Rights Movement. The movement had been splitting into factions for several years before he was assassinated. Dr. King’s death did accelerate the polarization of American society. The Black power became the leading force behind the transforming Civil Right Movement. However, to a far greater degree, King’s death signaled an alienation among white supporters of the movement who saw in King their opportunity to participate in the movement, while opposed to the movement hardened their stance in the face of the emerging drive for black self-determination. Robbed of the man who galvanized their community, outraged African Americans took to the streets to protest. Furor erupted among blacks in many cities as angry African Americans refused to heed the President\’s call for calm. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a vital figure of the modern era. His lectures and dialogues stirred the concern and sparked...
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...New York Senator, Robert F. Kennedy, gave a speech to a group of mostly African American’s about the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. as he landed in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 4th 1968, the same night the prominent leader, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed by a white man named James Earl Ray. Robert F. Kennedy was the first to inform the death of Dr. King to the crowd which gave him the opportunity to speak of the peace and the unity their leader followed hoping to settle the potential rioters and riots and tension that have been occurring throughout America as the devastating news spread. His message is compelling because he makes great use of connecting with his audience. O’Connor claims that Kennedy’s speech was immediately effective because there were no riots in Indianapolis compared to other Black cities in the nation and I feel like this is a valid point made. Although Kennedy’s speech was short, it was within an appropriate amount of time, given the fact that he didn’t have a lot of time to prepare the speech since he had also just recently heard the news about the death of Martin Luther King. He appeals to his audience with the use of...
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...As a person think, would I die for what I believe in? Martin Luther King was a vital leader of the black community during the civil rights movement. Through his upbringing, his role in the civil rights movement, and his assassination. Martin Luther King shaped the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King’s father and mother influenced him throughout his upbringing. Martin was taught peace by his parents. Martin’s parents told him that he should not hate white people and that his duty as a Christian was to love everyone (Bader 8). Non-Violence was something instilled in Martin at an early age. His father as a preacher knew violence was not the answer (Bader 2 and 6). Community was another value Martin Luther King Jr. Learned from his father....
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...Sykes 1 Eddie Sykes Jr. Political Science 1510 Teacher name April 20, 2015 Sykes 2 Martin Luther King Jr. lost his life trying to better the lives of African-American people. He was one of the greatest American Civil Rights leaders of the 1960s. Second child of Martin Luther King Sr. (1899-1984), a pastor, and Alberta Williams King (1904-1974), a former schoolteacher, Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. Along with his older sister, the future Christine King Farris (born 1927), and younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King (1930-1969), he grew up in the city’s Sweet Auburn neighborhood, then home to some of the most prominent and prosperous African Americans in the country. (History.com) A gifted student, King attended segregated public schools and at the age of 15 was admitted to Morehouse College, the alma mater of both his father and maternal grandfather, where he studied medicine and law. Although he had not intended to follow in his father’s footsteps by joining the ministry, he changed his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, an influential theologian and outspoken advocate for racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his predominantly white senior class. (History.com) Sykes 3 King then enrolled in a graduate program at Boston...
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...Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a solid force in the fight against racism and segregation in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was a man with profound speaking skills that led to his influence of the minority peoples of the United States. King was a sincere man who was against using violence to rise above the roadblocks thrown in the way of Black people all across the country. Background Michael Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929 to the Reverend Michael Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. The Louisiana State University (1996-2011) website Michael was the first born son and second child for the couple. Michael Luther King, Jr. had an older sister named Christine King Farris and a younger brother the late Reverend Alfred Daniel Williams King. When Michael was young King, Sr. started calling himself and his oldest son Martin. On June 19, 1953 King, Sr. performed the marriage ceremony for King, Jr. and Coretta Scott. Together they had four children, Yolanda Denise born in 1955, Martin Luther III in 1957, Dexter Scott in 1961, and Bernice Albertine born in 1963 (Louisiana State University, 1996-2011). King’s father and grandfather were both members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Atlanta, Georgia. His father’s own fight for equality in voting rights and teacher salaries helped to shape King into a political icon of the future (Carson, 2000). Education King attended two...
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...The Drum Major Instinct. Martin Luther King, Jr. remains arguably the most recognizable African American figure in world history. First thrust into the international spotlight courtesy of his leadership of a boycott of the public bus system in Montgomery, Alabama, where he was pastor of a local church, King became the lightning rod for the civil rights movement that emerged in the wake of the successful boycott. During the 1960s he gave innumerable speeches characterized by oratorical genius, led a succession of mass marches in the heart of segregated America and helped to reconstruct American race relations before his assassination in 1968. Ever since Montgomery he has attracted the attention of biographers and historians keen to understand what made him such a magnetic and inspirational leader and what made the story of the civil rights movement so compelling. Martin Luther King is most remembered for a speech given during one of the finest hours of the civil rights movement -- a sermon that set the moral tone for the movement. But while the Aug. 28, 1963, sermon "I Have A Dream," delivered during the March on Washington, framed much of Martin Luther King Jr’s notions of a free America, it was not the speech that defined his legacy. One of the world's best known advocates of non-violent social change strategies, Martin Luther King Jr., synthesized ideals drawn from many different cultural traditions. Recent studies of him emphasize the extent to which his ideals were rooted...
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...community, or maybe even yourself? Well that’s what Martin Luther King had, he had a dream, to stop racial segregation so for once and for all, all children of god can be together, eat together, and sing together because in his eyes all people are the same, no matter what color your skin is that shouldn't define you and it shouldn’t affect the way you’re treated because in the inside we are all the same and no matter the race we should all get the same rights and privileges. That was his dream and he fought for his dream. Martin Luther King’s dream became a reality in 1964, the year when all segregation of whites and blacks was no longer allowed anywhere in the United States....
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...Martin Luther King, Jr.: His Life and Battle for Freedom Allan M. Ysunza Kaplan University SS310 Exploring the 1960s: An Interdisciplinary Approach Dr. Ronald K. Bolender March 09, 2010 Martin Luther King, Jr.: His Life and Battle for Freedom In my unit 5 project I will discuss the life of Martin Luther King Jr. I will define how his personal ideologies might have contributed to his assassination. I will discuss the implications of his assassinations from a sociological perspective. All through the discussions, I will explore his life and journey as freedom leader and his will to gain justice via nonviolent and peaceful protest against racial discrimination and oppressions. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was destined to be a preacher like his father and after seminary became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama at the age of 25. King believed that black and white people should resist laws that they thought unjust. If necessary, he thought, they should disobey such laws. But King also said that they should be ready to accept punishment for breaking such laws. In some cases, they should even go to jail. He had grown up with the injustices in the South, and it did not take him long to join in the fight. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 in response to Rosa Parks’ arrest for refusing to give up her seat. He was arrested, but ultimately ended racial segregation on...
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...Shortly after 6 p.m., on the evening of April 04, 1968, a shot fired from the Memphis sky from a rooming house assassinating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. while he stood on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. King was standing in front of his room, 306, at the balcony railing engaged in a conversation with someone on the pavement below when hit with a bullet. James Earl Ray, FBI's two-hundred-seventy-seven most wanted fugitive, fired one shot to the front of his face killing him. The autopsy revealed that the bullet entered Dr. King's right jaw approximately an inch and a half below the mouth fracturing it. It exited the lower part of his face and reentered the body in the neck area severing numerous vital arteries. The bullet also fractured Dr. King's spine in several places causing severe damage to the spinal column before coming to a rest on the left side of the back spinal cord stopping in the shoulder blade. Dr. King was assassinated by a Remington-Peters, soft point, a metal-jacketed bullet fired from a high velocity .30-06 rifle. The rifle was recovered by police in front of Canipe's Amusement Company abandon. Ray was later identified fleeing the scene by police as a single white male in a white mustang heading north....
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