Assassination of Martin Luther King and His Final Speech

Martin Luther King was one of the most influential members of the National Civil Rights Movement who advocated greatly for the rights of African Americans due to large amounts of discrimination during the Civil Rights Era. Mr. King traveled to many places around the country to support those who were being treated unfairly, to promote awareness about the discrimination of African Americans and help make a change. Martin Luther King's final trip was to the Mason Temple Church in Memphis to support a worker's strike with a famous speech. Unfortunately, he was assassinated the next day whilst staying at a hotel.

Martin Luther King is one of the most important people in history. Martin Luther King was one of the main contributors to the National Civil Rights Movement. During the era that Mr. King was still alive, African Americans were hugely discriminated across the country. Mr. King made it his life's mission to fight and advocate for the rights and lives of all African Americans in the world. Mr. King sought to help African Americans by traveling around the country to help support many groups of African Americans with their own local problems.

One of Mr. King's many excursions took him to Memphis, Tennessee. Mr. King traveled there to help support a worker's strike at the time. Unfortunately, this was the last time that Mr. King would deliver a speech because this occurred the night before his assassination. Although it was his last, Mr. King delivered one of greatest improvised speeches known as the, 'I've been to the Mountaintop' speech. Mr. King delivered this speech at the Mason Temple during a very rainy night but both him and the audience didn't let that take away from his speech. One of the most memorable parts of his speech was the call of unity that he gave to the audience so they could support each other during hard times. He also even foreshadowed his own death within this speech which is pretty shocking.

After he delivered said speech, Mr. King returned to his hotel room at the Lorraine Motel with his friends. Martin chose this motel to stay at due to its historical significance for the African American community. The Lorraine motel was bought by a black businessman who wanted to create a safe space for African Americans during the Jim Crow law era. During his last moments there he was waiting for a permit to be provided by the city to allow Mr. King to hold a march in the city which eventually came through. At around 6 pm, Mr. King was hanging around on his hotel balcony talking with his friends in the parking lot. All of a sudden Mr. King was shot and killed instantly from a sniper. He was killed by James Earl Ray who was set up inside of the Rebel Motel. Mr. King was rushed to a hospital nearby where he was pronounced dead at 39.

Several decades later, the site of where Mr. King was assassinated was turned into the National Civil Rights Museum to honor his legacy and the important movement.

“About the Museum.” National Civil Rights Museum, https://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/about/. 

This source discusses the history of how the National Civil Rights Museum came to be created. The National Civil Rights Museum was originally known as the infamous Lorraine motel where Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Since then, the motel was changed to accompass years of African American history and accomplishments and became the National Civil Rights Museum. The Museum is now one of the most famous institutions that has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is still being updated with accomplishments of African Americans to this day. This source is very helpful and does a good job at giving a summary about the decades long history of this famous institution and how they recognize the many accomplishments of the African American community. The source even includes many sections where you can learn about the institution’s goals and the legacy of Martin Luther King.

“National Civil Rights Museum: An Essential Guide.” Lonely Planet, 3 Aug. 2022, https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/ultimate-usa-travel-list-national-civil-rights-museum. 

This source discusses the history of the original lorraine motel, the birth of the museum along with highlights and the popularity of the museum. Before it became the Lorraine motel, the motel where Martin Luther King was shot was called the Windsor hotel. The Windsor hotel was originally established as white-only and even kept this racial policy when it changed to the Marquette in the 40’s. In 1945, the hotel was bought by a black businessman named Walter Bailey who renamed it to the Lorraine motel after his wife and a popular tune. The motel was one of the few establishments that served black travelers including Martin Luther King. Unfortunately, King was assassinated at the Lorraine motel and was purchased years later where it became known as the National Civil Rights Museum. This source does a much better job than the previous about explaining the history of the Lorraine motel and how it started out and eventually became a famous place of history for the African American community. 

Cotter, Holland. “50 Years after Dr. King's Death, New Lessons for Today.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Mar. 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/28/arts/design/martin-luther-king-jr-national-civil-rights-museum.html. 

This source discusses the important movements that happened fifty years ago and are recognized today in the National Civil Rights Museum where Martin Luther King was killed. Cotter discusses Mr. King’s endeavors during his time at the Lorraine Motel including delivering his famous Mountaintop speech at a local church for a worker’s strike. He then talks about the very heartbreaking assassination of Martin Luther King while he was talking with friends on his balcony at the Motel and the nation’s reaction to his death. After the discussion on his death, Cotter goes into detail about the National Civil Rights Museum and how it celebrates the life of Martin Luther King and commemorates the achievements and portrays the past struggles of African Americans in the 20th century. I think this is another well made source about the significance of where Martin Luther King was assassinated and the legacy he now leaves behind.

Rosenbloom, Joseph. “Martin Luther King's Last 31 Hours: The Story of His Final Prophetic Speech.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 Apr. 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/04/martin-luther-king-last-31-hours-the-story-of-his-prophetic-last-speech. 

This source discusses the important events that occurred the day before King's death in Memphis Tennessee. Rosenbloom talks about how King visited the Mason Temple to deliver a speech to members of a worker's strike that night. It was here at this temple that King delivered his famous, 'I've seen the mountaintop' speech to the audience and told them to unite together as one to support each other during these hard times. Rosenbloom then discussed how big of an impact this had on the audience because it even foreshadowed his own death and that he wanted those with him to accomplish what he wouldn't be able to see. I think this source has important as well because it gives context as to why Mr. King was in Tennessee at the time of his death.

History.com Editors. “Martin Luther King Jr.. Assassination.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 28 Jan. 2010, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr-assassination. 

This source gives information about both the fateful day when King was assassinated and what occurred after he passed. The first part of this source contains backstory about the events that led up to his death and even discussed the death of fellow civil rights activist, Malcolm X. Similarly to other sources, the famous Mountaintop speech of Mr. King was discussed and how he was advocating until his last breath. This source then discusses the events that occurred after King's death such as riots that took place across the country and that President Lyndon B. Johnson requested that due to King's non-violent ways, that the riots please stop in his honor. I think this source is very good due to the important and wide range of information that it's able to cover.

“Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Speech.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, https://www.history.com/news/martin-luther-king-jr-mountaintop-moments. 

This source gives information about the final speech that Martin Luther King gave the day before his assassination in Memphis. The article talks about the poor conditions the day of his speech and how the citizens of Memphis didn't let that deter them from hearing one of the most famous speeches from Martin Luther King. The source also gives lots of context as to why Martin Luther King is delivering a speech in Memphis and it's because of a worker's strike for African American workers. The worker's strike was caused due to a freak accident where two garbage workers were crushed to death in a compactor inside of a garbage truck while hiding from harsh weather conditions. Many workers took to protest with the slogan, "I Am a Man", to advocate for better working conditions. This source is important because it establishes the importance that Martin Luther King had for people who were treated unequal and demanded more opportunities.