L.D.C. Fitzgerald, JFK Novelist

Today, April 4, 2012, marks the 44th anniversary of the tragic assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. by James Earl Ray. Similar to the Kennedy Assassination, one lone gunman was blamed.

An Atlanta, Georgia native, Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 to Reverend Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King.

Inspired by his Christian faith and the peaceful teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. King became the leader of the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. Advocating nonviolent resistance, such as protests, grassroots organizing, and civil disobedience, Dr. King led by words and example to achieve nearly unimaginable change.

• King served as spokesman for the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. In order to force integration of the Alabama city’s bus lines, virtually all African-American citizens boycotted the bus for over a year. Ultimately, the Supreme Court declared racially segregated buses to be unconstitutional.
• In 1963, he led a coalition of civil rights groups in a series of nonviolent protests against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. The “Birmingham Campaign” involved boycotting local businesses, sit-ins, and marches. When police responded with excessive force, public outcry led to new civil rights legislation.
• In a watershed moment for civil rights, Dr. King delivered his monumental “I have a dream” speech in August of 1963 during the historic “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, King spoke to over two hundred thousand, rallying for racial equality and an end to discrimination.
• As a result of his nonviolent efforts to effect change, Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. At 35 years of age, he became the youngest person to receive this honor.

Lorraine Motel, Site of MLK's Assassination

The life of Martin Luther King Jr.came to a sudden and brutal end on April 4, 1968, when the thirty-nine-year-old was shot dead outside the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Escaped convict James Earl Ray was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 99 years in prison. Ray died in jail in 1998.

Sadly, the assassination of an advocate of nonviolent protest led to a nationwide wave of race riots in Washington D.C., Chicago, Baltimore, Louisville, Kentucky, Kansas City, and dozens of other cities.

Tags: Assassination, I Have a Dream, Martin Luther King, MLK, Speeches