Martin Luther King Assassination: Leadership, Efforts and Conspiracy

MARTIN LUTHER KING
ASSASSINATION

Martin Luther king is known as the leader of the Civil Rights Movement. He was also a
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate who followed the principles of civil disobedience and non- violence.
He was assassinated by James Earl Ray at Lorraine Motel in Memphis (Shelby, 2018). The
present essay throws light on Martin Luther King’s assassination, his leadership and his efforts to
change the thinking of Americans and eliminate racial issues.
(Source: Bridges, 2019)
Martin Luther King was staying in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel. King was leaning
over the balcony of the room and talking to Rev. Jesse Jackson when he was shot in the face at
6:01 pm. The shot was fired from Remington Model 760 rifle. The bullet injured his jaw and
several vertebrae and went through the spinal cord. As a result of this, his jugular vein and major
arteries were severely injured. He fell backwards and was unconscious. He was bleeding
profusely and was fatally shot following which was rushed to the hospital where he died. Soon
after, James was arrested and extradited to United States (Rogers, Moffitt and Foo, 2021). He
was charged with crime. As he was pleaded guilty, he was sentenced to 99 years.
It is believed by the Kings family that the assassination was a consequence of the
conspiracy which involved US government, mafia, as well as the Memphis police. A wrongful
death suit was filed by the family in the year 1999 against Jowers regarding the sum of $10
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million. It was during the trail, that evidences were presented by both the sides that alleged the
presence of a government conspiracy. Also, the agencies which were accused could not defend
themselves as they were not named in the category of defendants. On the basis of the trail, it was
concluded by the jury that others including Jowers were a part of conspiracy to kill King.
(Source: Beacon Roadside, 2016)
Two incidents involving racial discrimination led to Montgomery boycott which was led
by King. He was also arrested and jailed during the campaign. Having gained attention of the
national media, this campaign played a major role in increasing King’s public stature. Following
it, the district court prohibited racial segregation and the blacks resumed to riding the
Montgomery busses again (Teixeira, Spears and Yzerbyt, 2020). This role played by King in the
bus boycott made him assume the position of national figure. He also became spokesman of civil
rights movement. King also led the South Christian Leadership Conference.
Martin Luther King held strong belief that an organized and non – violent protest against
the southern segregation system would be effective in gaining extensive media coverage. He also
believed that it would also bring forward the struggle for equality of black people and their
voting rights. There were journalistic accounts as well as televised footage which showed the
deprivation and indignities suffered by black on a daily basis. It also made people aware about
the harassment of civil rights and segregationist violence. This led to the generation of a wave of
sympathetic public opinion due to which majority if the Americans were convinced about the
relevance of the issue of Civil Rights Movement (Honey, 2018). Various marches were also
organized by King which supported the rights of the black people to vote. These also supported
and promoted that Black people’s rights to desegregation, labour and other civil rights.
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