20.1.17

Assassination of Martin Luther King

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The Assassination of Martin Luther King 1968

On 4th April 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis. This was extremely detrimental to the Civil Rights Movement.

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Assassination

  • Martin Luther King was preparing for a march in Memphis, Tennessee to support refuse collectors, planning a ‘Poor People’s Campaign’.
  • On 4th April 1968, he was shot dead at the age of 39 on the balcony of his hotel room.
  • A man was seen fleeing the area, and a rifle and binoculars were found stashed near the hotel.
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Perpetrator

  • James Earl Ray was arrested for the assassination over 2 months later at Heathrow Airport in London after his fingerprints matched those found on the rifle.
  • Ray was allegedly attempting to flee to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), which at the time was controlled by Prime Minister Ian Smith's white supremacist government.
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Guilty plea

  • After being extradited back to Tennessee, James Earl Ray confessed to the murder and entered a guilty plea.
  • He was sentenced to 99 years in prison.
  • However, he spent the rest of his life trying to withdraw his guilty plea.
  • Many have disputed that James Earl Ray was the sole participant in Martin Luther King's assassination.

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4The Empire of Mali: 1076-1670 AD

5The Renaissance & Reformations: 1500-1598 AD

6The British Empire: 1583-1960 AD

7The Peasants' Revolt: 1381 AD

8Religion in the Middle Ages

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12US Independence: 1775-1783 AD

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14The British Empire: 1857–1930 AD

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18World War 2: 1939-1945 AD

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20Civil Rights in the USA: 1954-1975 AD

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