On this day in 1968, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was tragically shot and killed by James Earl Ray

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This is how the morning newspapers in London headlined the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, April 5, 1968. (AP Photo)
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On April 4, 1968, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., a revered figure in the civil rights movement and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, was tragically shot and killed by James Earl Ray. The incident occurred while King was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was only 39 years old at the time of his death.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. stands with other civil rights leaders on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., on April 3, 1968, a day before he was assassinated at approximately the same place. From left are Hosea Williams, Jesse Jackson, King, and Ralph Abernathy. The 39-year-old Nobel Laureate was the proponent of non-violence in the 1960’s American civil rights movement. King is honored with a national U.S. holiday celebrated in January. (AP Photo/Charles Kelly)

King’s legacy as a trailblazer in the American civil rights movement remains profound. He led numerous nonviolent demonstrations advocating for racial equality, notably including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Selma-to-Montgomery marches for voting rights, and the historic 1963 March on Washington.


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