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James Ray assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. He did this directly out of hatred. Ray was an outspoken racist who had an intent to kill MLK. Ray had a very strong motive to kill him. Martin Luther King was a black activist and he was fighting for his people, however some people, such as James Ray, did not believe in MLK's ways and decided to hate him.

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This is a picture of MLK in his casket after he had died. His family and friends are surrounding him and comforting each other. This man was extremely important at the time and still continues to be important throughout history and our lives today. Martin Luther King Jr always fought for what he wanted and he was very determined to receive the outcome he was trying to achieve. Because of this man, black and whites are equal today and will continue to be because of his hard dedication.

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what is a short term and long term effect? 

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what is a short term and long term effect? 

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The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. led to anger among Black Americans, as well as a period of national mourning that helped speed the way for an equal housing bill that would be the last significant legislative achievement of the civil rights era. Dr. King's leadership contributed to the overall success of the civil rights movement in the mid-1900s and continues to impact civil rights movements today. MLK and other leaders pushed for civil rights but this still remains a preeminent challenge in our world today.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, an event that sent shock waves reverberating around the world. A Baptist minister and founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), King had led the civil rights movement since the mid-1950s, using a combination of impassioned speeches and nonviolent protests to fight segregation and achieve significant civil rights advances for African Americans. His assassination led to an outpouring of anger among Black Americans, as well as a period of national mourning that helped speed the way for an equal housing bill that would be the last significant legislative achievement of the civil rights era.

King Assassination: Background

In the last years of his life, Dr. King faced mounting criticism from young African American activists who favored a more confrontational approach to seeking change. These young radicals stuck closer to the ideals of the Black nationalist leader Malcolm X (himself assassinated in 1965), who had condemned King's advocacy of nonviolence as "criminal" in the face of the continuing repression suffered by African Americans.

As a result of this opposition, King sought to widen his appeal beyond his own race, speaking out publicly against the Vietnam War and working to form a coalition of poor Americans-Black and white alike-to address such issues as poverty and unemployment.

Did you know? Among the witnesses at King's assassination was Jesse Jackson, one of his closest aides. Ordained as a minister soon after King's death, Jackson went on to form Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) and to run twice for U.S. president, in 1984 and 1988.

In the spring of 1968, while preparing for a planned march to Washington to lobby Congress on behalf of the poor, King and other SCLC members were called to Memphis, Tennessee, to support a sanitation workers' strike. On the night of April 3, King gave a speech at the Mason Temple Church in Memphis.

In his speech, King seemed to foreshadow his own untimely passing, or at least to strike a particularly reflective note, ending with these now-historic words: "I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

In fact, King had already survived an assassination attempt in the shoe section of a Harlem department store on September 20, 1958. The incident only affirmed his belief in non-violence.
READ MORE: How an Assassination Attempt Affirmed MLK's Faith in Nonviolence

Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

At 6:05 p.m. the following day, King was standing on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where he and his associates were staying, when a sniper's bullet struck him in the neck. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later, at the age of 39.

Shock and distress over the news of King's death sparked rioting in more than 100 cities around the country, including burning and looting. Amid a wave of national mourning, President Lyndon B. Johnson urged Americans to "reject the blind violence" that had killed King, whom he called the "apostle of nonviolence."

He also called on Congress to speedily pass the civil rights legislation then entering the House of Representatives for debate, calling it a fitting legacy to King and his life's work. On April 11, Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, a major piece of civil rights legislation that prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin or sex. It is considered an important follow-up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
READ MORE: 8 Steps That Paved the Way to the Civil Rights Act of 1964
King Assassination Conspiracy

On June 8, authorities apprehended the suspect in King's murder, a small-time criminal named James Earl Ray, at London's Heathrow Airport. Witnesses had seen him running from a boarding house near the Lorraine Motel carrying a bundle; prosecutors said he fired the fatal bullet from a bathroom in that building. Authorities found Ray's fingerprints on the rifle used to kill King, a scope and a pair of binoculars.

On March 10, 1969, Ray pleaded guilty to King's murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. No testimony was heard in his trial. Shortly afterwards, however, Ray recanted his confession, claiming he was the victim of a conspiracy. The House Select Committee on Assassinations (who also investigated the assassination of JFK) maintained that Ray's shot killed king.

Ray later found sympathy in an unlikely place: Members of King's family, including his son Dexter, who publicly met with Ray in 1977 and began arguing for a reopening of his case. Though the U.S. government conducted several investigations into the trial-each time confirming Ray's guilt as the sole assassin-controversy still surrounds the assassination.

At the time of Ray's death in 1998, King's widow Coretta Scott King (who in the weeks after her husband's death had courageously continued the campaign to aid the striking Memphis sanitation workers and carried on his mission of social change through nonviolent means) publicly lamented that "America will never have the benefit of Mr. Ray's trial, which would have produced new revelations about the assassination...as well as establish the facts concerning Mr. Ray's innocence."
READ MORE: Why Martin Luther King's Family Believes James Earl Ray Was Not His Killer
Impact of the King Assassination

Though Black and white people alike mourned King's passing, the killing in some ways served to widen the rift between Black and white Americans, as many Black people saw King's assassination as a rejection of their vigorous pursuit of equality through the nonviolent resistance he had championed.

His murder, like the killing of Malcolm X in 1965, radicalized many moderate African American activists, fueling the growth of the Black Power movement and the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

King has remained the most widely known African American leader of his era, and the most public face of the civil rights movement, along with its most eloquent voice.

A campaign to establish a national holiday in his honor began almost immediately after his death, and its proponents overcame significant opposition-critics pointed to FBI surveillance files suggesting King's adultery and his influence by Communists-before President Ronald Reagan signed the King holiday bill into law in 1983.
READ MORE: The Fight for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

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Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, an event that sent shock waves reverberating around the world. A Baptist minister and founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), King had led the civil rights movement since the mid-1950s, using a combination of impassioned speeches and nonviolent protests to fight segregation and achieve significant civil rights advances for African Americans.

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This video shows the event of MLK being assassinated. He was shot at the Lorraine Hotel and immediately people were surrounding him trying to make sure he was okay. This video is important because it shows the exact events before MLK was shot. It also shows how sad this day was because Dr. King was just trying to fight for his civil rights and in return he was shot and killed.

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Smithsonian Channel releases footage from new MLK assassination documentary

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This video explains how Dr. King was the most prominent civil rights leader who was fighting hard for African American equality. MLK traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to support thousands of stricken black sanitation workers. This is where he was killed. This video is important because it explains the backstory of the event very well and shows the people who watch it what actually occurred on this extremely sad day.

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Smithsonian Channel releases footage from new MLK assassination documentary

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One opinion article about the event with summary of what the article says and why it is important

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One opinion article about the event with summary of what the article says and why it is important

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This article talks about how MLK was such a good leader and all of the positive things he had done during his time. This is however very opinion based because many people could potentially argue that Dr. King was not a good leader. Even though this author was on his side, people reading this article might not be. This is important because this event was a huge opinion based thing and many people formed their own thoughts even though one is more accurate than the other, as we have seen in history.

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What's your definition of a great leader? One of my favorites is from Rosalynn Carter who distinguishes a leader from great leader:
"A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be."
Based on that definition and looking back over the past 50 years, I think we can all agree that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great leader. We can learn a lot from Dr. King and his legacy.

You see, one of the key attributes of a great leader is a strong vision. And Dr. King had a vision. A vision for an ideal America, an ideal America that was a far cry from the reality of the day.

If you are old enough to remember the summer of 1963, you will remember that America was not only deeply divided but also racially segregated, by the laws of the day. Dr. King's vision for people of all races to live, work and play together seemed almost laughable. And 50 years later, while much remains to be done, it seems to me that progress has been made towards achieving his vision.

On Monday, January 21st, we honor Dr. King and his vision for America with a national holiday. Few are more deserving of such an honor. Dr. King is probably most remembered for his " I Have a Dream " speech, delivered one summer day in 1968 in Washington D.C. In this speech, he painted a picture of his ideal America. He powerfully anchored his vision to well-known documents from our nation's life and history.
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
He continued describing his vision of the future with language that could only be imagined as fantasy that day in 1963, but which has come closer to becoming real as we near the speech's 56th anniversary:
"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that my four 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...I have a dream that one day...little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers."
Wow - what a picture! He went on to tie his vision to a bedrock of American patriotism, and to national physical landmarks by quoting the iconic anthem, My Country, Tis of Thee:
"Let freedom ring from the snow capped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And finally, Dr. King brought everyone together and urged a united front against tyranny and oppression:
"When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing, in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'"
The picture Dr. King painted was poignant and prophetic. His speech was predominantly about the Civil Rights Movement and about equal treatment of blacks. But on that day in our nation's Capital, almost 25% of the crowd, or 60,000 people, were white. Dr. King transcended color. His memory continues to inspire us - black and white - almost 50 years after his death. He continues to inspire this white businessman - a man who grew up in South Louisiana, went to college at the University of Arkansas and now calls Austin, Texas home - this white businessman, who has a little bit of redneck, Cajun and hillbilly all rolled up into one!

Thank you Dr. King. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for your vision. Thank you for standing up for what you believe in. Thank you for preaching and living nonviolence. Thank you for inspiring generations to stand for equality.

You and I don't have to be world leaders or elected to office to make a positive impact on our little slice of the world. And it doesn't take a Herculean effort or an act of Congress to make an impact. Simply shift your mind and do what is right.

What is your vision? Where are you leading your business, family, community? Your vision and leadership can change the world. Use your power for good.

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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - A Great Leader with a Great Vision - HireBetter

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What's your definition of a great leader? One of my favorites is from Rosalynn Carter who distinguishes a leader from great leader: "A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be."

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Choose an event from your lifetime that is similar to your historic Civil Rights event

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Choose an event from your lifetime that is similar to your historic Civil Rights event

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The protests of Black Lives Matter have been going on recently and this is very similar to my Civil Rights event because both events are fighting for equality. The BLM protests are a bunch of people coming together to show that they feel like black people and their lives need to be taken more seriously. This is basically the same thing that MLK was fighting for during his time. If he was alive, he would be on board with the BLM protests because he was all for African American civil rights. These events are both extremely similar because in today's world everyone needs to be looked at equally or else things will not run smoothly. If one side is favored more than the other, then things will not go well. MLK would 100% approve of these protests because he was working very hard for civil rights for blacks and their freedom and peace.

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“Martin Luther King, Jr. Is Assassinated.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 24 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dr-king-is-assassinated.

History.com Editors. “Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassination.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 28 Jan. 2010, www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr-assassination#:~:text=His%20assassination%20led%20to%20an,of%20the%20civil%20rights%20era.

Joseph, Peniel. “Analysis | How Martin Luther King Jr.'s Assassination Changed America 50 Years Ago and Still Affects Us Today.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 28 Apr. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/01/15/kings-assassination-shaped-americas-identity-50-years-ago-and-continues-to-shape-it-today/.

"Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 27 Jul. 2020. school-eb-swb.orc.scoolaid.net/levels/high/article/assassination-of-Martin-Luther-King-Jr/631021. Accessed 23 May. 2021.