DAY IN HISTORY-APRIL 4, 1968

Martin Luther King Jr. Shot and Killed

Celebrated civil rights leader dead at age 39

Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, during which he delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech, calling for an end to racism. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights activist who was praised for his commmitment to nonviolence, was violently murdered outside his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968.

King was fully aware that he was a target for assassination. He had already survived one attempt on his life in 1958. The night before he was killed, King spoke at the Mason Temple, delivering an eerily prescient speech which he ended as follows:

“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”