King Assassinated: America Loses Its Moral Voice
Martin Luther King Jr. was 39 years old when he was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. He was there supporting striking sanitation workers. The night before, he'd given the 'I've Been to the Mountaintop' speech, which ended: 'I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you.' He'd been in a low period — the Poor People's Campaign was struggling, his opposition to the Vietnam War had cost him allies, and FBI surveillance had included a letter urging him to commit suicide. He was shot at 6:01 p.m. James Earl Ray fired from a bathroom window across the street. King died at St. Joseph's Hospital one hour later.
April 4, 1968
58 years ago
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