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