This Day in History: <br />Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. <br />Is Assassinated April 4, 1968 King was shot and killed <br />as he stood on the second floor balcony <br />of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN. The “apostle of nonviolence” <br />had gone to Memphis in support <br />of a sanitation workers' strike. Widely recognized as the <br />most prominent face of the <br />American Civil Rights Movement, <br />Dr. King was just 39 years old. In a prophetic speech the night <br />before his murder, King stated <br />that, “I’ve seen the promised <br />land. I may not get there with you." Petty criminal James Earl Ray <br />was arrested two months later <br />and eventually pleaded guilty <br />to King's assassination. After being sentenced to 99 years <br />in prison, Ray recanted his confession. <br />Questions of a conspiracy to <br />assassinate Dr. King continue to linger. King's death sparked <br />riots in more than <br />100 American cities. On April 9, tens of thousands of <br />mourners lined the streets of <br />Atlanta, GA, to pay their respects on <br />the day the civil rights icon was laid to rest.
