Shattered Dream: The Assassination of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On the evening of April 4, 1968, news reporter Walter Cronkite delivered the following on the “CBS Evening News,” “Good evening. Dr. Martin Luther King, the apostle of nonviolence in the civil rights movement, has been shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee. Police have issued an all-points bulletin for a well-dressed young white man seen running from the scene (Cronkite)”. This news shook America to its core. Earlier that day when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, the civil rights movement lost an influential leader. There is some dispute of who killed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. due to a conspiracy theory that prevails to this day. However, the man that pled guilty was James Earl Ray. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a major turning point in history. His death helped propel more political movements and racial upset. These, in turn, contributed to the advancement of the cause for civil rights of African-Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, to Reverend Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King in Atlanta, Georgia (Carson). He was the middle child of three children (Carson). Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s father fought against racial prejudice (Carson). Reverend Michael King Sr’s beliefs and …show more content…
Martin Luther King, Jr. collided changing history. Around 6 p.m. James Earl Ray stood in the bathtub of boarding houses bathroom, balanced the rifle (purchased in Birmingham) on the window ledge and fired a shot (Posner). Across the street at the Lorraine Motel, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was standing on his hotel balcony when he was struck by a single.30-06 Bullet fired from a Remington Model 760 Gamemaster rifle (Carson). The gunshot pierced King's right cheek, shattering his jaw and some vertebrae as it moved down his spinal cord, doing much damage, before lodging in his shoulder