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The Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1968)

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The Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1968)

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In Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968, MLK Jr. was assassinated while he was attending and supporting a sanitation workers' strike.

In relation to the civil rights movement, it is clear that the ongoing fight for civil rights laid an important groundwork and foundation for MLK Jr. to build upon. As a prominent leader, MLK Jr. pushed activism further and carried out early fights for civil rights which were rooted in topics such as abolishing slavery and encouraging legal battles for racial equality. Without the work done before his time, MLK would not have had the platform or the foundation that he needed to push towards racial equality up until his assassination.

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April 4, 1968

3:00pm - MLK Jr. is in his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN

3:30pm - MLK Jr.'s assassin, James Earl Ray, checks into a nearby hotel with a direct line of sight to MLK Jr.'s room at the Lorraine Motel

4pm - Ray purchases a pair of binoculars and returns to his hotel room

5:55pm - MLK Jr. leaves his room and lingers on the balcony to talk to his driver

6:01pm - Ray fires a shot and severely injures MLK Jr.

6:03 pm - Police are notified of the shooting and they receive a description of a "young white male" who is "headed north from the shooting"

6:30pm - Ray has already crossed the state line into Mississippi

7:05pm - MLK Jr. is pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Hospital

8:15pm - The bundle of items that Ray left behind is turned over to the FBI and the investigation begins

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In response to MLK Jr.'s assassination, the nation was overwhelmed with anger and grief, which quickly turned into protests and riots. Because MLK Jr. was fighting for a world of peace and racial equality/justice, his assassination was seen as an attack towards those goals and liberties. This fueled the protests and riots heavily.

The following cities were some of the most affected during the protests and riots following MLK Jr.'s death:

Washington D.C.

Baltimore

Chicago

New York City

Los Angeles

Detroit

Cleveland

In these protests and riots, there were instances of looting, arson, violence between rioters/protesters and police enforcement, as well as a theme of embracing black power.

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While the protests and riots were intense and historically significant, the real beauty in the uprise of MLK Jr.'s life and death is that the people continued to fight for his beliefs, values, and goals. This unified a great number of people with a similar moral compass. In fact, the assassination of MLK Jr. marks a key moment in U.S. history.

Putting violence to the side, MLK Jr.'s death and the aftermath of it all helped push racial equality even further and even paved the way for more significant political movements such as the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which was passed very quickly after the assassination. As such, the Civil Rights Act of 1968 fought against housing discrimination in regards to race, religion, or place of birth.

Overall, these protests and riots shed light on racial equality and police reform and, more specifically, the dire need for a feasible pathway to make racial equality a reality. It was clear that progress had been made, but many more steps would be needed to be taken toward a world of true racial equality.

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Fast forward 52 years, and the nation is still pushing for racial equality. While the past 5 decades made significant progress in the right direction, it is clear that there is still a level of racial unjust in the U.S. Following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black male who was wrongfully murdered by a white Minneapolis police officer in 2020, protests and riots once again filled cities all across the U.S.

Unfortunately, Floyd was one of thousands of black victims who were murdered in the hands of racially-charged police brutality. In response to this, protesters took to the streets in 2020 to shed light on the fact that racial inequality still exists, police brutality is at an all time high, and the fight against systematic racism is far from over.

It is clear that even in today's day and age, the ongoing fight for civil rights still exists.