"disagrees with William F. Pepper's claims that the government killed King. He is supported by author Gerald Posner. Posner wrote ""Killing the Dream: James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr."" (1998), concluding that Ray killed King, acting alone, likely for the hope of collecting a racist bounty for the murder. On the other hand, conspiracy theorists bristled at ""Killing the Dream"", criticizing Posner for in part basing it on ""a psychological evaluation of James Earl Ray, which he [Posner] is not qualified to give, and he dismisses evidence of conspiracy in King's murder as cynical attempts"
"was with King when he was assassinated, noted: According to biographer Taylor Branch, King's friend and colleague James Bevel put it more bluntly: ""There is no way a ten-cent white boy could develop a plan to kill a million-dollar black man."" Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr., an American clergyman and civil rights leader, was shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. King was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, and was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. CST. He was a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement and a Nobel Peace"
"Martin Luther King Jr. assassination conspiracy theories The conspiracy theories relating to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement, relate to different accounts of the assassination that took place on April 4, 1968, in Memphis Tennessee. King was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, one day after giving his final speech: ""I've Been to the Mountaintop."" Claims soon arose over suspect aspects of King's assassination and the role of the alleged assassin, James Earl Ray. Since MLK's assassin, James Earl Ray, pled guilty early on, there was no trial. Suspicions"
"stated that he shot King because ""all Christians are my enemies"", and claimed that he had decided that black ministers were a menace to black people. He said his original target had been Martin Luther King Sr., but he had decided to shoot his wife instead because she was close to him. Edward Boykin, one of the church's deacons, was also killed in the attack, and a woman was wounded. Alberta was interred at the South View Cemetery in Atlanta. Martin Luther King Sr. died of a heart attack on November 11, 1984, at age 84 and was interred next"
"Dr King."" The HSCA's Chief Counsel, Robert Blakey, said that if the CIA or FBI had been involved, all incriminating documents would have been destroyed long before 1979. Martin Luther King Jr. assassination conspiracy theories The conspiracy theories relating to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement, relate to different accounts of the assassination that took place on April 4, 1968, in Memphis Tennessee. King was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, one day after giving his final speech: ""I've Been to the Mountaintop."" Claims soon arose over suspect aspects"
"titled ""Truth At Last: The Untold Story Behind James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr."" James Earl Ray James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American fugitive and felon convicted of assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. Ray was convicted on his 41st birthday after entering a guilty plea to forgo a jury trial. Had he been found guilty by jury trial, he would have been eligible for the death penalty. Sentenced to ""de facto"" life imprisonment, he later recanted his confession and tried unsuccessfully"
"American. They marched to gain public awareness and support for their plight: the danger of their work, and the struggles to support families with their low pay. Their drive for better pay had been met with resistance by the city government. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, known for his leadership in the non-violent movement, came to lend his support to the workers' cause. King stayed at the Lorraine Motel in the city, and was assassinated by a sniper on April 4, 1968, the day after giving his prophetic ""I've Been to the Mountaintop"" speech"
"lost civil rights leader on April 7. Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights activist, Baptist preacher, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was assassinated on April 4, 1968, by a gunshot wound to the right side of his jaw, neck and shoulder in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had been leading a strike of waste management workers. The news of the murder sent shockwaves of emotion in many African American communities in a number of cities, resulting in deadly riots between the day of the murder and the day of the funeral. A state funeral or lying in state was refused"
"King assassination riots The King assassination riots, also known as the Holy Week Uprising, was a wave of civil disturbance which swept the United States following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. It was the greatest wave of social unrest the United States had experienced since the Civil War. Some of the biggest riots took place in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Chicago, and Kansas City. The immediate cause of the rioting was the assassination of Martin Luther King. King was not only a leader in the civil rights movement, but also an advocate for nonviolence. He"
"months later. On April 4, 1968, African-American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a sniper in Memphis, Tennessee. United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy was traveling to Indianapolis to promote his presidential campaign when he heard the news. He delivered a brief, improvised speech on the matter before suspending all of his campaign activities and withdrawing to his room at the Marott Hotel. After several phone conversations with African-American community leaders, he decided to speak out against the violent backlash to the assassination and carry on with a scheduled appearance before the City Club of Cleveland."
"James Earl Ray James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American fugitive and felon convicted of assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. Ray was convicted on his 41st birthday after entering a guilty plea to forgo a jury trial. Had he been found guilty by jury trial, he would have been eligible for the death penalty. Sentenced to ""de facto"" life imprisonment, he later recanted his confession and tried unsuccessfully to gain access to a retrial. In 1998, Ray died in prison of complications due to chronic hepatitis C"
"Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1954 until his death in 1968. Born in Atlanta, King is best known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, tactics his Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi helped inspire. King led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and in 1957 became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). With the SCLC, he led an unsuccessful 1962"
"King delivered the invocation at the 1976 and 1980 Democratic National Conventions. King was also a member of Omega Psi Phi. King Sr.'s wife and King Jr.'s mother, Alberta, was murdered by Marcus Wayne Chenault on Sunday, June 30, 1974, at the Ebenezer Baptist Church during Sunday services. Chenault was a 23-year-old black man from Ohio who stood up and yelled, ""You are serving a false God"", and began to fire from two pistols while Alberta was playing ""The Lord's Prayer"" on the church organ. Upon capture, the assassin disclosed that his intended target was Martin Luther King Sr., who"
"Robert F. Kennedy's speech on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. On April 4, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York delivered an improvised speech several hours after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.. Kennedy, who was campaigning to earn the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, made his remarks while in Indianapolis, Indiana, after speaking at two Indiana universities earlier in the day. Before boarding a plane to attend campaign rallies in Indianapolis, he learned that King had been shot in Memphis, Tennessee. Upon arrival, Kennedy was informed that King had died. ""Oh God,"" Kennedy said, hands buried"
"murdered, Bobbejaan Schoepen and Mel Turner wrote the song 'They Killed the King' together as a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. It was intended to be also a tribute to all peaceful defenders of equality, humanity and freedom. The song first was released on Bobbejaan Records, May 14, 1968, nearly one month after Martin Luther King was murdered April 4, 1968. But it was a local single because of the attention and the hard work that Bobbejaan and his wife Josee were committed to. The family lived ""in"" the amusement park itself for 43 years. Mel Turner and Bobbejaan"
"the fourth month of White's first term, on April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, touching off disturbances in the African-American Roxbury section of Boston that same evening which did not spread to other parts of the city. On April 5, 5,000 people marched from Boston Common to Post Office Square in King's memory. James Brown had a previously scheduled concert set for that same evening in Boston Garden. White's chief of police was concerned about allowing 15,000 people to attend the concert so close to downtown, saying he didn't think he could keep the city safe."
"Many attended the dinner, making it a turning point in Atlanta's race relations. Upon hearing that Martin Luther King Jr. had been shot in Memphis, Mayor Allen immediately rushed to the support of Dr. King's wife. Allen and his wife were with Mrs. King when it was confirmed that Dr. King was dead. Two days after Dr. King's assassination on April 4, 1968, he participated in a march across the west side of Atlanta, leading the way in a police car for the nearly four thousand black students walking in memory of Dr. King. Along with the Atlanta's police chief,"
"Alberta Williams King Alberta Christine Williams King (September 13, 1904 – June 30, 1974) was Martin Luther King Jr.'s mother and the wife of Martin Luther King Sr. She played a significant role in the affairs of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. She was shot and killed in the church six years after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Alberta Christine Williams was born on September 13, 1904, to Reverend Adam Daniel Williams (1863-1931), at the time preacher of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and Jennie Celeste Williams (née Parks; 1873-1941). Alberta Williams graduated from high school at"
"1968, the Memphis sanitation strike began for living wages and better working conditions; the workers were overwhelmingly African American. They marched to gain public awareness and support for their plight: the danger of their work, and the struggles to support families with their low pay. Their drive for better pay had been met with resistance by the city government. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, known for his leadership in the non-violent movement, came to lend his support to the workers' cause. He stayed at the Lorraine Motel in the city, where he was assassinated"
"state. Martin Luther King was scheduled to speak at the school gymnasium on April 4, 1968. He changed his plans, staying in Tennessee, and was assassinated there. Black high school students protested in Wilmington on the following day, making a march to City Hall. Later that year, desegregation plans for Wilmington were disputed in federal court. The school was closed as a high school as the Board of Education did not want to spend the sums required to improve the school to the standard of white schools nor to send white students there. The black students were moved to the"
"filed a suit against Loyd Jowers after he stated publicly he had been paid to hire an assassin to kill Martin Luther King. Mrs. King's son Dexter met with Jowers, and the family contended that the shot that killed Mrs. King's husband came from behind a dense bushy area behind Jim's Grill. The shooter was identified by James Earl Ray's lawyers as Earl Clark, a police officer at the time of King's death, who had been dead for several years before the trial and lawsuits emerged. Jowers himself refused to identify the man he claimed killed Martin Luther King, as"
"called the Jeannette Rankin Brigade. Coretta co-chaired the Congress of Women conference with Pearl Willen and Mary Clarke. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. She learned of the shooting after being called by Jesse Jackson when she returned from shopping with her eldest child Yolanda. King had difficulty settling her children with the news that their father was deceased. She received a large number of telegrams, including one from Lee Harvey Oswald's mother, which she regarded as the one that touched her the most. In an effort to prepare her daughter"
"1968, civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, igniting further mass rioting and chaos, including Washington, D.C., where there was rioting within just a few blocks of the White House and machine guns were stationed on the Capitol steps to protect it. The most important reason for the precipitous decline of President Johnson's popularity was the Vietnam War, which he greatly escalated during his time in office. By late 1967, over 500,000 American soldiers were fighting in Vietnam. Draftees made up 42 percent of the military in Vietnam, but suffered 58% of the casualties as nearly 1000"
"have needed to break out of jail. Kershaw convinced Ray to take a polygraph test as part of an interview with ""Playboy"". The magazine said that the test results showed ""that Ray did, in fact, kill Martin Luther King Jr., and that he did so alone"". Ray fired Kershaw after discovering that the attorney had been paid $11,000 by the magazine in exchange for the interview, and hired conspiracy theorist Mark Lane to provide him with legal representation. Ray died in prison in 1998. In 1994, Kershaw was one of the founders of the League of the South, a group"
"On the Mindless Menace of Violence ""On the Mindless Menace of Violence"" is a speech given by United States Senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. He delivered it in front of the City Club of Cleveland at the Sheraton-Cleveland Hotel on April 5, 1968, the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. With the speech, Kennedy sought to counter the King-related riots and disorder emerging in various cities, and address the growing problem of violence in American society. On April 4, King, a prominent African-American civil rights leader, was assassinated. Race riots subsequently broke out across the"
"Funeral of Martin Luther King Jr. The first memorial service following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, took place the following day at the R.S. Lewis Funeral Home in Memphis, Tennessee. This was followed by two funeral services on April 9, 1968, in Atlanta, Georgia, the first held for family and close friends at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King and his father had both served as senior pastors, followed by a three-mile procession to Morehouse College, King's alma mater, for a public service. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a national day of mourning for the"
"I've Been to the Mountaintop ""I've Been to the Mountaintop"" is the popular name of the last speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. King spoke on April 3, 1968, at the Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters) in Memphis, Tennessee. On the following day, King was assassinated. The speech primarily concerns the Memphis Sanitation Strike. King calls for unity, economic actions, boycotts, and nonviolent protest, while challenging the United States to live up to its ideals. At the end of the speech, he discusses the possibility of an untimely death. Regarding the strike, King stated that He"
"jury unanimously found, on December 8, 1999, that Jowers was part of a conspiracy to kill King, and that the assassination plot also involved ""others, including governmental agencies."" At a press conference following the verdict, Coretta Scott King stated that ""there is abundant evidence of a major high level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband, Martin Luther King, Jr... the Mafia, local, state and federal government agencies, were deeply involved in the assassination of my husband. The jury also affirmed overwhelming evidence that identified someone else, not James Earl Ray, as the shooter, and that Mr. Ray was set"
"has been largely overlooked and ignored, due to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., it was one of the most powerful and heartfelt ones Kennedy delivered. From Muncie, the Kennedy entourage flew back to Indianapolis that night where Robert F. Kennedy delivered what many call his greatest speech, announcing the Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination to a predominantly African-American audience. Discarding the themes of his earlier speeches, Kennedy addressed the crowd for six minutes, speaking entirely about King’s death and its meaning for the nation and the world, ending by asking for prayers for King, his family, and “for"
"Loyd Jowers Loyd Jowers (November 20, 1926May 20, 2000) was the owner of Jim's Grill, a restaurant near the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. In 1993, Jowers appeared on ABC's ""Prime Time Live"" and related the details of an alleged conspiracy involving the Mafia and the U.S. government to kill King. According to Jowers, the perpetrator, James Earl Ray, was a scapegoat, and was not the only person responsible for assassinating King. Jowers said that he hired Memphis police Lieutenant Earl Clark to fire the fatal shot. The existence"
"riders from Washington, D.C., were stopped in Birmingham, Alabama. A sanitation workers' strike in Memphis in 1968 was linked to both the Civil Rights Movement and the Poor People's Campaign. Martin Luther King, Jr., who had come to the city in support of the striking workers, was assassinated on April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel, the day after giving his prophetic ""I've Been to the Mountaintop"" speech at the Mason Temple. The assassin, James Earl Ray, was a racist escaped convict who had no previous connection to the city. African Americans, most of whom were then enslaved, were politically"
"Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in April 1968. Riots broke out in Baltimore during the weekend of Palm Sunday. African American citizens were frustrated and angry. The 1968 riots were not exclusive to Baltimore. Many American cities had riots after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. The educational achievement of African American students in Baltimore would continue to lag behind that of their white counterparts, with a report in 1968 showing that the ethnic mix of areas, the influence of private education and the divide between urban and suburban areas affected outcomes. Desegregation of the Baltimore City Public Schools"
"1968 New York City riot The 1968 New York City riot was a disturbance sparked by the assassination of Martin Luther King on April 4, 1968. Harlem, the largest African-American neighborhood in Manhattan was expected to erupt into looting and violence like it had done a year earlier, in which two dozen stores were either burglarized or burned and three people were killed. However, Mayor John Lindsay traveled into the heart of the area and stated that he regretted King’s wrongful death which led to the calming of residents. Numerous businesses were still looted and set afire in Harlem and"