Wednesday morning, April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. boarded Eastern Air Lines Flight 381 in Atlanta. Along with four of his top aides, he was flying to Memphis on an urgent mission to support the sanitation workers’ strike among other things https://youtu.be/sbjUJCISwAo (1:52-1:58) With King were three men — Ralph Abernathy,
Andrew Young
and Bernard Lee
and one woman, Dorothy Cotton.
Dorothy Cotton would later recount the moment they were aboard the flight to Memphis. Before they could take off, over the comms the pilot announced, “I have to ask everyone to leave the plane because Dr. King and some of his staff are on the plane and there has been a bomb threat.”
https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/mlk-final-hours/hZGdKryTxH7UChM5tcdLwJ
He would eventually arrive in Memphis
where a tired Martin Luther King handed over the mantle of speaking to the people that night at the Mason Temple to Ralph Abernathy. The weather was bad due to a thunderstorm, so he assumed not many persons would make their way out to the temple, but he was wrong.
Some reports state that King was also ailing from a sore throat at the time and planned to stay in his hotel. However, a crowd of thousands of gathered to hear him deliver the message that inspired people through his mission.
Abernathy later said he called up Martin Luther King and asked him to speak, stating “I had sense enough to know that this was not my crowd.”
Martin Luther King, dedicated to his cause and the people, made his way to the podium at, what was reported to be about an hour and a half later, delivered his speech.
He commended the audience’s bravery to still put their efforts into carrying on the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ strike even through the inclement weather and got to what they came to hear – his resounding speech.
This speech however felt different. His words held the same power, but this time, he spoke in terms of change, elevating and arriving at God’s promised land with his people. But the important part that now resonates after his assassination, is that he spoke of change for others even if he would not be there when that change came. It was as if he knew that his life may not be long again for this world https://youtu.be/e49VEpWg61M (0:01-1:10)
Those close to him recall his behavior when pertaining to death changed over the years as the many threats and attempts on his life failed to out his fire. According to their recollection, even just weeks prior in late March before coming to Memphis, Martin Luther King confided to his parents that they ought to brace for his death at any time. He knew he made enemies with the movement he was leading and fear of violence and the country’s status quo would be broken
Martin Luther King Jr would return to his place of stay – the popular motel for black celebrities, The Lorraine Motel at around 4 am with his associate Bernard Lee to get some much needed rest https://youtu.be/sbjUJCISwAo (1:35-1:44)
His room was room 306 on the 2nd floor
April 4th 1968, King would awake to a new day, one that was supposed to be preparation for his march the following day, but that day, his life would come to an end. His day began at 8 am with the morning inclusive of a number of meetings, some fruitful, others not so much
At 12 p.m., he had a catfish lunch with Abernathy as police continued to surveil his motel room.
Little did he know, a man later found out to be James Earl Ray had arrived in Memphis the night before.
According to Memphis magazine. at 3:15 p.m. on April 4, after a night at The Rebel Motel, Ray allegedly checked into a boarding room at 422 South Main Street.
The manager Bessie Brewer shows Ray Room 5B upon his request for just a sleeping room, no stove or refrigerator. The room is tiny with just a bed, chair, and dresser in the north wing. The window gives a partial view of the Lorraine, and by leaning out the window, Ray figures he can watch Room 306. “I’ll take it,” says Ray. “Where is the bathroom?” Brewer shows him the bathroom at the end of the hallway, just two doors down. Charles Stephens, next door in 6B, opens his door and sees Ray inspect the room. Ray goes downstairs and pays $8.50 (one week’s rent), giving his name as John Willard. With him, is a rifle he later sneaks in, undetected according to reports
https://memphismagazine.com/features/dr-kings-last-hours-timeline
https://www.insider.com/martin-luther-king-jr-final-hours-photos-2023-1#king-needed-rest-6
The evening drew on and Martin Luther King would step out onto the balcony outside his room around 5:55 pm, where he leaned over the railing conversing with some friends below. By that time King was already being lined up by his killer at the building in the distance
5 minutes later at around 6 pm, Martin Luther King would begin raising up to check out the weather when a loud bang was heard. Martin Luther King was shot from the room approximately 207 feet away from a bathtub through the window https://youtu.be/DooK9SY9DE4 (0:00-0:50)
Andrew Young, his close friend at his side outside room 306 recalls telling King to get a coat as they were scheduled to get dinner, when he was shot https://youtu.be/6jKtQAH7eLU (0:27-0:40) The force of the shot was so strong, Martin Luther King Jr was knocked back to the floor as the blood started flooding https://youtu.be/pXH_1OQeK9A (0:47-1:11) The now iconic photo with a dying Martin Luther King Jr on the floor and his affiliates pointing to the building telling the cops where the shot came from, is a piece of history with a dark tale https://youtu.be/6jKtQAH7eLU (0:54-1:14)
The bullet connected with his chin, exiting through his jaw and puncturing his neck, fracturing the spine https://youtu.be/kG_2mvkNQVc (1:55-2:06) https://youtu.be/Tu-Nl-X8zOI (0:01-0:12) https://youtu.be/Tu-Nl-X8zOI (1:22-
Just the day prior he would be standing in the same spot beside his companions. From the left they were Hosea Williams, Jesse Jackson, King, and Ralph Abernathy
Now he was on the floor fighting for his life
Police and paramedics would arrive rushing Martin Luther King to the St. Joseph’s Hospital,
where he was pronounced dead about an hour later https://youtu.be/Tu-Nl-X8zOI (0:59-1:14
The tragedy would hit the news stations and newspaper sending shockwaves of hurt, grief, and anger in people who believed and respected what he was trying to accomplish
https://youtu.be/ByFMoDEGfTo (0:00-0:04) https://youtu.be/ByFMoDEGfTo (0:34-0:52) https://youtu.be/ByFMoDEGfTo (0:54-1:12) https://youtu.be/pi6NeuFr5Us (0:00-0:20)
The expressions and screams at the hearing of the news and later at his funeral told how shocking the tragedy was https://youtu.be/DooK9SY9DE4 (0:58-1:30)
That night, A mass rally was to be conducted by Martin Luther King and his comrades, but instead, the crowd gathered in the melee of his assassination https://youtu.be/pi6NeuFr5Us (1:46-2:28)
According to reports, the shooter dashed out of the building dropping the alleged murder weapon. A bulletin for a young white man dressed in dark clothes was put out and the race was on to capture the culprit https://youtu.be/pi6NeuFr5Us (3:53-4:22)
The national guards were deployed and a curfew was instated in preparation for riots and an outbreak of anger from the thousands of supports that agreed with his cause https://youtu.be/pi6NeuFr5Us (4:23-4:53) The hunt was on for many reasons, one, justice had to be served, someone had to be the face of what happened because there would surely be hell to raise and riots for his assassination. The man authorities placed as the face of the perpetrator was James Earl Ray and wanted posters were plastered all around.
For 65 days King’s alleged killer had eluded an international manhunt, forging an escape marked by constant movement, multiple aliases, lax immigration laws, and plain dumb luck. In Brussels, he had hoped to find passage to South Africa, Rhodesia, or some other white-ruled African nation at the time, where he imagined he could claim sanctuary.
But shortly before noon on June 8, 1968, a British policeman stood at the passport desk at London’s Heathrow Airport, where Ray handed over his passport upon trying to travel and escape.
Everything seemed in order with the fake passport under the name Ramon Sneyd,
but upon checking, his identity came under question when further investigation revealed that Scotland Yard was looking for an American prison escapee traveling under the name Sneyd. A quick pat-down of Ray revealed a loaded Japanese revolver in his pocket, and then it was found that he matched the description of Martin Luther King’s killer.
James Earl Ray was apprehended and charged for the brazen murder https://youtu.be/MgPZQpWZrGo
Reports state that he would plead guilty to the charges, but later try to recant his confession on the grounds that his attorney at the time cut a deal with the district attorney throwing to talk him into a false guilty plea https://youtu.be/-wHQZ1zyVxY (3:27-3:50) https://youtu.be/IRwjkUFE8Ew (10:39-12:28) However Ray was sentenced to 99 years without having the chance at any trial https://youtu.be/-wHQZ1zyVxY (0:22-0:32) https://youtu.be/crACoAK3_Us (1:15-1:40)
Ray’s backstory is an interesting one. Apparently he was a fugitive on the run when he committed the assassination. In April 1967, Ray had escaped from prison in Missouri, where he was serving 20 years for a string of supermarket robberies, by slipping into a box on a baker’s truck https://youtu.be/BFRsl5mqVoQ (0:17-0:34) He crisscrossed state lines and international borders, moving from California to Alabama and Canada to Mexico, flophouse to flophouse at a dizzying pace. Posing as Eric Starvo Galt he moved to Mexico, where he tried unsuccessfully to establish himself as a porn film director. Ever the dreamer, he re-entered the U.S. in November and settled in Los Angeles, where he got a nose job, signed up for dance lessons and graduated from bartending school. It was like a story out of a movie script.
https://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/june_8_1968_james_earl_ray_is_captured
However, Ray continued to reiterate his innocence in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. He would be interviewed various times where he gives the story that he was framed. He stated that when he came back to the US, he met a guy in Canada by the name of Raul who was a gun dealer that employed him to do several gun-running schemes with the promise of good pay and a passport so he could leave Canada https://youtu.be/ACTFJPjXMaM (0:00-1:04) https://youtu.be/tvbfLK603Fs (37:27-39:10)
Ray claimed that Raul asked him to purchase a rifle not knowing what it was intended for,
but it turned out to be the same rifle prosecutors stated was the murder weapon in the assassination.
Ray believes he was the scapegoat and was manipulated and used by Raul who was working with the FBI to murder Martin Luther King Jr https://youtu.be/BFRsl5mqVoQ (17:20-17:32)
The problem for Ray was, Raul could never be found, so no one believed him. He claimed when he was first arrested he gave a description of Raul and wrote all the details down on paper, but the lawyer claims he lost the note https://youtu.be/tvbfLK603Fs (35:57-36:30)
Ray would try to present his evidence in order to be given a trial. His theory was accepted by many because the FBI was keeping tabs on King with the strength of his movement and allegedly wanted him out of the way. Persons like Jesse Jackson who was a close friend right at the scene when King was murdered,
and Dr. William Pepper, a former lawyer of the King family,
both believe Ray wasn’t the trigger person but was used by the FBI to carry out the assassination and then be tossed to the wolves as the person to pin the crime on https://youtu.be/IRwjkUFE8Ew (16:04-17:01) https://youtu.be/0k19cpPIlWQ (52:47-53:52) https://youtu.be/0k19cpPIlWQ (39:25-40:30)
Martin Luther King’s family also was leaning to the side of Ray’s theory about the FBI setting him up.
https://www.history.com/news/who-killed-martin-luther-king-james-earl-ray-mlk-assassination
King’s son, Dexter even went to the prison and spoke with Ray face to face
where he was adamant he didn’t kill his father, and Dexter believed it was not him, but the FBI pulling the strings and they wanted the truth https://youtu.be/-wHQZ1zyVxY (0:51-1:24) Later it would be revealed by Dexter and Dr Pepper that Raul was in fact located https://youtu.be/-wHQZ1zyVxY (9:05-9:32) According to Dr William Pepper, after years of investigating the movements that Ray made, it led to finding Raul was real and lived in Yonkers New York https://youtu.be/8ISfWE6dMgw (43:37-44:25) Dr. Pepper would agree to represent Ray in 1988 and after losing a couple appeals for a trial, he tried a different approach and that got them their foot in the door https://youtu.be/8ISfWE6dMgw (44:26-45:23) According to him, this led to the televised trial in 1993 where Ray gave his evidence https://youtu.be/8ISfWE6dMgw (45:24-46:33) As a TV trial is wasn’t taken seriously, but opened the doors for witnesses to come forward with the alleged truth, which allegedly led to finding a sniper unit that was in Memphis on April 4th and interviewing those who they found and they laid out plans for the assassination by the FBI https://youtu.be/8ISfWE6dMgw (46:38-49:29)
Dr. Williams Peppe also made a shocking claim, that the FBI was using the Dixie mafia, and that they were the ones who ended Martin Luther Kings life. According to him, King was still alive when at the hospital but the head of neurosurgeon who was the mafia’s doctor was told that if the bullet doesn’t kill King, he should be taken to the St. Joseph hospital and he shouldn’t leave alive. A member of a nurse present in the room said she saw the neurosurgeon suffocate King with a pillow after spitting on him and telling them to “let that negro die.” Dr Pepper claims the son of the Dixie Mafia head also confirmed the story https://youtu.be/0k19cpPIlWQ (21:23-23:20) https://youtu.be/0k19cpPIlWQ (23:36-25:14)
The conspiracies began gaining more attention, but it was when Judge Joe Brown
who did an interview with VLAD TV exposed that even down to the rifle presented as evidence wasn’t the rifle used in MLK’s murder, and he agreed that James Early Ray wasn’t the shooter and he would have been one step closer to freedom if Ray hadn’t died and he got the chance to deliberate with all the evidence, but somehow he was taken off the case due to “bias favoring Ray,” basically saying he was leaning too much to Ray being set up rather than sticking with the conviction that Ray was the shooter https://youtu.be/HcJ_szc3TEA (0:26-4:40)
This leaves even further speculation that someone, or some entity didn’t want the truth revealed and wanted Ray to take the fall https://youtu.be/HcJ_szc3TEA (5:49-7:03)
Still, Early James Ray was fighting an uphill battle to have an official trial and be heard, until he passed away behind bars at the age of 70 on April 23rd, 1998,due to a liver disease and not having a donor https://youtu.be/-wHQZ1zyVxY (2:00-2:14) https://youtu.be/5fH5r8Rdubk (1:34-1:51)
Martin Luther King Jr. death sparked unrest in citizens and after riots and violent outbreaks, things finally began steering in the direction of equality with the passing of new laws and dedicating as MLK day https://youtu.be/kG_2mvkNQVc (2:49-3:40) Rest in peace Martin Luther King Jr https://youtu.be/smEqnnklfYs (12:13-14:30)
Chad is a professional journalist specializing in Hip-Hop culture and writing music reviews.
