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Martin Luther Kins

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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 the conscience of the generations. The movement and marches he led brought significant changes in the fabric of American life through his courage and selfless devotion. This devotion gave direction to thirteen years of civil right activities His charismatic leadership inspired men and women, young and old, black and white in this nation and around the world. The assassination of Dr. Kind was one of the opening acts that plunged 2968 into a year of turmoil. Coming on the heels of the Tet Offensive which showed the war in Vietnam to be in disarray and President Johnson’s decision not to seek reelection. King’s assassination was itself soon followed the murder of Robert Kennedy, violence at the Democratic National Convention and a general unraveling of the country into a period of violence and despair. James Earl Ray was an escaped convict who fired the fatal shot that killed Dr. King from a flophouse across the street from the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee where Dr. King stood on the balcony. Dr. King was there to help lead sanitation workers in a protest against low wages and intolerable working conditions. It took two months to the police to arrest Mr. Ray, but like other assassination, evidence of a conspiracy was easily found, despite being ignored by government investigators. Some consider Dr. King tactics as legendary and that he brought a sense of hope, peace, and prosperity to a suffering ethnic group and the nation as a whole. He was a great man that did wonderful things for the future of our nation and the people who inhabits it.
My favorite part of his “I’ve been to the mountaintop” Is “We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And 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” [ (Jr., 1968) ]. We need to all strive to be like Dr. King and make a change in this world for the better of this world.

Reference:

SOLIDARITY WITH THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT. (2011, April 3). Retrieved from http://ravenanda.blogspot.com/2011/04/dr-rev-martin-luther-king-jr-january-15.html.
Communications, F. (2011, April 4). Dr. Martin Luther King Assassinated. Retrieved from http://www.newschannel9.com/articles/king-999943-ray-april.html.
Home, B. (1968, April 4). 1968: Martin Luther King shot dead. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/4/newsid_2453000/2453987.stm.
Jr., M. L. (1968, April 3). “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Retrieved from http://www.afscme.org/union/history/mlk/ive-been-to-the-mountaintop-by-dr-martin-luther-king-jr.
Wikiquote. (2011, November 19). Martin Luther King, Jr. Retrieved from http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.
We have to try and make a difference, not be afraid of whose toes we may step on or what we have to sacrifice to achieve our goal.

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