The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr

"White people hate black people and black people hate white p eople." The previous phrase was instilled into the minds of many Americans, black and white, as a heavily divided nation fatally fought internally for equal rights. For some, it wasn't equal rights that was being fought for, but to keep a racially segregated nation racially divided. All of these feelings were crucially altered by a Nobel Prize winning martyr: Martin Luther King, Jr. King did many things to change the tides of civil rights. As he contributed more to society, an increasing number of threats were made on his life. Unfortunately, these events led to King's untimely death.

During the 1950s and the 1960s, these were many African-Americans with social faults or barriers; many were illiterate and were afraid to oppose society. This wasn't the case for Martin Luther King, Jr.; he was an intelligent man and would do anything to form an equal society. However, to achieve this dream of equality, King used only peaceful, nonviolent methods such as protests, marches, and boycotts. "'If you have weapons, take them home; if you do not have them, please do not seek to get them,' King once begged a crowd."(Lindop 96) Although seeming unlikely, King's nonviolent methods were quite effective as the nation began to notice the power of peaceful protesting.

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s ideas and actions were not accepted by all; many attempts to kill him were made. On January 30, 1956, the revered's "home was bombed" "while he was speaking to a mass rally." (Lindop 96) Even then, King proceeded to follow through with his fight for equality. Once, while riding across the nation on buses with other civil rights activists, one of the buses was "attacked" with "iron bars." (Lindop 99) In addition to these brutal attacks, windows were smashed, tires were slashed, and fire bombs were tossed. King prevailed through the hatred and even the possibly fatal threats; one of these acted-upon threats would change the nation forever.

On April 4, 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr. Agreed to lead a march for sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. While in Memphis, he stayed at the Lorraine Motel. " He spent most of the day behind closed doors with his chief aides in a second-floor room at the Lorraine