the assassination of dr. martin luther king jr. by: shayne ruse
TRANSCRIPT
The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
By: Shayne Ruse
King’s early life Born on January 15th 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia He was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later
had his name changed to Martin. attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of
fifteen grew up in the church and was well-read in
the scripture. Followed family tradition and wanted to be a
minister
Family
Father: Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. Mother: Alberta Williams King Grandparents: Adam Daniel Williams and Jenny
Parks Williams Wife: Coretta Scott
Together they had 4 children1.Yolanda Denise 2.Martin Luther III 3.Dexter Scott 4.Bernice Albertine
Education
Graduated High School at age 15 First he entered Morehouse College at the age of 15
and graduated in 1948 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology. (19)
Then he enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania where he graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity Degree in 1951.(22)
He received a Doctorate of Philosophy in Systematic Theology from Boston University on June 5, 1955. (25)
Religious service
Father and Grandfather were both Ministers King began his ministry in 1954 as the pastor
of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
Religious tries strongly connected him to his ideal of non-violent protest.
Montgomery Bus Boycott
December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks took a stand for her race by refusing to give her seat to a white person. (According to the books)
in December 1955 he along with NAACP led a 382-day boycott of Montgomery’s segregated public bus system.
On December 21, 1956, the Supreme Court had declared the laws requiring segregation on buses unconstitutional
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Formed in 1957, with MLK as it’s leader MLK gave over 2,500 times. About 250 a year. Made many movements in many different
cities. Cities such as Albany, Georgia and
Birmingham, Alabama were he was arrested. It was at this time that he wrote “The letter
from Birmingham Jail.
March on Washington August 28, 1963 Dr. King represented the SCLC. Dr. King delivered his most famous speech, from the
steps of the Abraham Lincoln Memorial. Excerpt:
‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal’ … I have a dream that my four little
children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of
their character."
Nobel Peace Prize
Time magazine selected Martin Luther King, Jr., as its Man of the Year for 1963.
Nobel Prize Committee in Stockholm, Sweden, awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize.
The reward of over $54,000, he donated to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.
MLK Assassination
On March 29, 1968, King went to Memphis, Tennessee, in support of the black sanitary public works employees.
He got there late because his plane had a bomb threat scare.
King was booked in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel, owned by Walter Bailey, in Memphis, he roomed with Ralph Abernathy (leader of American Civil Rights Movement)
MLK Assassination
at 6:01 p.m., April 4, 1968, a shot rang out as King stood on the motel's second-floor balcony
The bullet entered through his right cheek, smashing his jaw, then traveled down his spinal cord before lodging in his shoulder.
Abernathy heard the shot from inside the motel room and ran to the balcony to find MLK on the floor.
MLK Assassination
King was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Hospital at 7:05 p.m.
His last words were to Ben Branch. He was scheduled to perform that night at an event King was attending: "Ben, make sure you play 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty.“
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNrVed6dP6s
Aftermath
Nationwide race riots in Washington D.C., Chicago, Baltimore, Louisville, Kansas City, and dozens of other cities.
Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy gave a short speech asking people to keep Dr. Kings ideal of non-violent protests.
President Lyndon B. Johnson declared April 7 a national day for mourning MLK.
Personal friend Mahalia Jackson sang 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' at MLK’s funeral.
James Earl Ray Two months after King's death, escaped
convict James Earl Ray was captured at London Heathrow Airport while trying to leave the United Kingdom on a false Canadian passport in the name of Ramon George Sneyd.
He was extradited to Tennessee and charged with King's murder.
He confessed on March 10, 1969, though he denied the confession three days later.
James Earl Ray
Ray much like Oswald said that he was a patsy. Ray had been convicted of burglary and theft.
However he was never charged with using a weapon.
Ray (from the advice of his attorney) took a guilty plea to avoid the death sentence.
Ray was sentenced to a 99-year prison term.
James Earl Ray
In 1997, King's son Dexter Scott King met with Ray, and helped Ray's efforts to obtain a new trial.
The King family strongly believes that James Earl Ray had nothing to do with the assassination.
Dr. William Pepper represented Ray and the King family.
Conspiracy Theories
The Memphis Bar Man
Lloyd Jowers he was a Memphis bar owner ran Jim's Grill,
located across the street from the Lorraine Motel.
He claimed in 1993 that a Memphis dealer, Frank Liberto gave him $100,000 to hire a hit man to murder King—and the killer he hired wasn't Ray.
Government Conspiracy
• Ray was set up by the U.S. government, who had hired a Mafia hit man to kill King.
• Team of green beret snipers were close, to finish the job if the hit man missed.
• commando in charge of the Green Beret snipers, Billy Eidson, was killed shortly after as a way to keep the plot a secret.
• Dexter King publicly stated that he felt the government and LBJ were directly
involved in his fathers death.
Questions?
Works Cited
• http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html
• http://www.historynet.com/martin-luther-king-jr • http://www.infoplease.com/spot/mlk1.html • http://
history1900s.about.com/cs/martinlutherking/a/mlkassass.htm
• http://www.historynet.com/martin-luther-king-jr
Works Cited
• http://www.thekingcenter.org/about-dr-king • http://www.nps.gov/malu/index.htm • http://www.martinlutherking.org/ • http://www.kinginstitute.info/
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