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David's Second Page THE ASSASSINATION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

Introduction Martin Luther King Jr was one of the most brave people that the people of America had ever seen he was also one of the most important leaders of the civil rights movement,he inspired a generation, and helped to change American society. The civil rights movement began in the 1950s when African Americans organized to protest racial segregation in the South. It gave momentum in the 1960s, a decade in which King also attained national recognition.

The civil rights movement challenged the existence of prejudice based on race,sex, religion, or national origin. Martin and his followers were questioned an America that treated Black people as second. They took issue with beliefs of those in authority. Not suprisingly, such a challenge met with a strong resistance and as a result in angry confrontations. The Assassination King and the workers planned a demonstration on March 28, 1968. On the morning of demonstration,peacful marchers walked with banners that read "I Am a Man."The leaders of the strike had promised Dr.King that a group of militant African American activists Known as the Invaders would not be part of the march. However,when king arrived, they were among peaceful marchers and soon changed the tone of the demonstration. Members of the invaders dropped out of line and started breaking store windows and stealing. During the disorder that followed the march,police shot a sixteen-year-old African American,sixty others were clubbed and wounded,and 280 people were arrested.

On April 4,1968 just before 6:00 PM, Dr. KIng was outside on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in front of his room. From a balcony, Martin saw Ben Branch, a musician from Chicago, standing with his associate Jesse Jackson. He asked Branch to play "Precious Lord Take My Hand" at a second rally scheduled at the Mason Temple that night. King asked him to play it real pretty,suddenly a shot rang out. From the bathroom window of the rooming house,a sniper's single shot from high powered rifle struck and threw King back on to the balcony.

Freedom Fighter

On January 15, 1929, a son was born to the Reverend and Alberta Williams King of Atlanta, Georgia, the couple named their son Martin after Reverend King. He was called M.L. by his family. King's childhood home was located in a residential section of Atlanta known as sweet Auburn. Two blocks away stood the church where M.L.'s father was a pastor, Ebenezer Baptist Church. M.L. entered the christian ministry and was ordained at his father's church in February 1948,at the age of nineteen, following his ordination, he also became the assistant pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church. In 1953, King married Coretta Scott and settled in Montgomery, Alabama and in 1955 he completed his graduate work and received a Ph.D. in theology from Boston University.

In 1964, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, an honor he took very seriously. The Nobel Prizes are the highest honors in the world awarded for intellectual achievement. Also in 1964, //Time// Magazine named Dr.King Man of the Year. King then focused on another major issue: voting rights for African Americans. Although African Americans legally possesed the right to vote, few actually could.

The Assassin James Earl Ray, the man who many people beleive shot Martin Luther KIng Jr. was a small time crook and drifter who had escaped from prison. For much of his adult life, James Earl Ray had survived by robbing gas stations and stores. Ray left Memphis and drove to Atlanta, where he abandoned his car the day after the assassination. Several days later, the Federal Bureau of investigation searched the Mustang.