Today is the forty anniversary of the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King. I remember the date primarily from the U2 song “Pride (In the Name of Love):”
Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride
Today in Memphis (my hometown) presidential candidates (Hilary Clinton and John McCain), civil rights leaders, labor activists, and citizens are meeting in Memphis to march in honor of Dr. King and his accomplishments. For those that don’t remember (I was only 5 in 1968, so I don’t remember either), Dr. King was allegedly shot and killed by James Earl Ray. The reason I say “allegedly” is that many still believe that Ray was just a patsy, saying that he confessed under pressure from the police and that the assassination was really part of a larger conspiracy. Dexter King, Martin’s son, would later publicly support Ray’s efforts for a retrial and many who were with King at the time he was shot said the shot came from a different direction rather than the rooming house from where Ray supposedly fired.
Dr. King was in Memphis to support a strike by the African American sanitary public works employees. He was staying in the Lorraine Motel in room 306 (which is now part of the National Civil Rights Museum). Reverend Jesse Jackson was with him on the balcony when he was shot. Musician Ben Branch and Reverend Ralph Abernathy were in the room and ran out when the shot occurred. It is said that Dr. King’ last words were “Ben, make sure you play “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty.” Dr. King was pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s Hospital about an hour later at 7:05 p.m. The medical examiner at the time was Dr. Jerry Francisco, who I would later work with at the University of Tennessee, Memphis and go to church with at Balmoral Presbyterian. Really, really nice man who was also the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Elvis.
The death of Dr. King lead to many riots in over 100 cities across the U.S. At the time of his death, my grandparents owned a car lot on South Third, right down the street from world renowned Beale Street. I remember my grandmother telling me of seeing people run down the streets screaming and destroying things. One of her African American customers even stopped by to tell my grandparents what had happened, that there was going to be trouble and they needed to leave. Four thousand members of the National Guard were called into Memphis and the mayor issued a dusk-to-dawn curfew. Beale Street was looted and many of the storefronts were covered with plywood. You can read more about the rioting in Memphis at the Commercial Appeal.