Harvin eadon biography of martin luther king

King advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through the use of nonviolent resistance and nonviolent civil disobedience against Jim Crow laws and other forms of legalized discrimination. A black church leader, King participated in and led marches for the right to votedesegregationharvin eadon biography of martin luther king rightsand other civil rights.

King was one of the leaders of the March on Washingtonwhere he delivered his " I Have a Dream " speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorialand helped organize two of the three Selma to Montgomery marches during the Selma voting rights movement. There were several dramatic standoffs with segregationist authorities, who often responded violently.

King was jailed several times. FBI agents investigated him for possible communist ties, spied on his personal life, and secretly recorded him. Inthe FBI mailed King a threatening anonymous letterwhich he interpreted as an attempt to make him commit suicide. In his final years, he expanded his focus to include opposition towards poverty and the Vietnam War.

InKing was planning a national occupation of Washington, D. James Earl Raya fugitive from the Missouri State Penitentiarywas convicted of the assassination, though the King family believes he was a scapegoat. After a wrongful death lawsuit ruling named unspecified "government agencies" among the co-conspirators, [ 4 ] a Department of Justice investigation found no evidence of a conspiracy.

King's death was followed by national mourningas well as anger leading to riots in many U. Day was established as a holiday in cities and states throughout the United States beginning in ; the federal holiday was first observed in The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D. Michael King Jr. Shortly after marrying Alberta, Michael King Sr.

With support from his wife, he raised attendance from six hundred to several thousand. At his childhood home, Martin King Jr. He'd stand there, and the tears would run down, and he'd never cry. Martin King Jr. On May 18,when King had sneaked away from studying at home to watch a parade, he was informed that something had happened to his maternal grandmother.

As an adolescent, he initially felt resentment against whites due to the "racial humiliation" that he, his family, and his neighbors often had to endure. Washington High Schoolwhere he maintained a B-plus average. Martin Jr. In harvin eadon biography of martin luther king school, Martin King Jr. Especially since he was crazy about dances, and just about the best jitterbug in town.

On April 13,in his junior yearKing gave his first public speech during an oratorical contest. The finest negro is at the mercy of the meanest white man. It was the angriest I have ever been in my life. During King's junior year in high school, Morehouse College —an all-male historically black college that King's father and maternal grandfather had attended [ 67 ] [ 68 ] —began accepting high school juniors who passed the entrance examination.

In the summer before King started at Morehouse, he boarded a train with his friend—Emmett "Weasel" Proctor—and a group of other Morehouse College students to work in Simsbury, Connecticutat the tobacco farm of Cullman Brothers Tobacco. After we passed Washington there was no discrimination at all. The white people here are very nice. We go to any place we want to and sit anywhere we want to.

He played freshman football there. The summer before his last year at Morehouse, inthe year-old King chose to enter the ministry. He would later credit the college's president, Baptist minister Benjamin Mayswith being his "spiritual mentor". King enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary in Upland, Pennsylvania[ 78 ] [ 79 ] and took several courses at the University of Pennsylvania.

Flowera professor of philosophy. Proctorwho both went on to become well-known preachers. King reproved another student for keeping beer in his room once, saying they shared responsibility as African Americans to bear "the burdens of the Negro race". For a time, he was interested in Walter Rauschenbusch 's "social gospel". King planned to marry her, but friends, as well as King's father, [ 86 ] advised against it, saying that an interracial marriage would provoke animosity from both blacks and whites, potentially damaging his chances of ever pastoring a church in the South.

King tearfully told a friend that he could not endure his mother's pain over the marriage and broke the relationship off six months later. One friend was quoted as saying, "He never recovered. InKing began doctoral studies in systematic theology at Boston University[ 88 ] and worked as an assistant minister at Boston's historic Twelfth Baptist Church with William Hunter Hester.

Hester was an old friend of King's father and was an important influence on King. Haynesassociate pastor at Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury. The young men often held bull sessions in their apartments, discussing theology, sermon style, and social issues. An academic inquiry in October concluded that portions of his doctoral dissertation had been plagiarized and he had acted improperly.

However, "[d]espite its finding, the committee said that 'no thought should be given to the revocation of Dr. King's doctoral degree,' an action that the panel said would serve no purpose. Powell spoke to fellow student Coretta Scott ; Scott was not interested in harvin eadon biography of martin luther king preachers but eventually agreed to allow King to telephone her based on Powell's description and vouching.

On their first call, King told Scott, "I am like Napoleon at Waterloo before your charms," to which she replied, "You haven't even met me. As the church's pastor, King became known for his oratorical preaching in Montgomery and the surrounding region. In MarchClaudette Colvin —a fifteen-year-old black schoolgirl in Montgomery—refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in violation of Jim Crow lawslocal laws in the Southern United States that enforced racial segregation.

King was hesitant but decided to do so if no one else wanted it. The boycott lasted for days, [ ] and the situation became so tense that King's house was bombed. Gayle that prohibited racial segregation on Montgomery public buses. King's role in the bus boycott transformed him into a national figure and the best-known spokesman of the civil rights movement.

The group was created to harness the moral authority and organizing power of black churches to conduct nonviolent protests in the service of civil rights reform. The group was inspired by the crusades of evangelist Billy Grahamwho befriended King, [ ] as well as the national organizing of the group In Friendship, founded by King allies Stanley Levison and Ella Baker.

Harry Wachtel joined King's legal advisor Clarence B. Sullivan ; the case was litigated about the newspaper advertisement " Heed Their Rising Voices ". Wachtel founded a tax-exempt fund to cover the suit's expenses and assist the nonviolent civil rights movement through a more effective means of fundraising. King served as honorary president of this organization, named the "Gandhi Society for Human Rights".

InKing and the Gandhi Society produced a document that called on President Kennedy to issue an executive order to deliver a blow for civil rights as a kind of Second Emancipation Proclamation. Kennedy did not execute the order. Kennedybegan tapping King's telephone line in the fall of He warned King to discontinue these associations and later felt compelled to issue the written directive that authorized the FBI to wiretap King and other SCLC leaders.

Edgar Hoover feared the civil rights movement and investigated the allegations of communist infiltration. King believed that organized, nonviolent protest against the system of southern segregation known as Jim Crow laws would lead to extensive media coverage of the struggle for black equality. Journalistic accounts and televised footage of the daily indignities suffered by southern blacks, and of segregationist violence and harassment of civil rights supporters, produced a wave of sympathetic public opinion that convinced the majority of Americans that the civil rights movement was the most important issue in American politics in the early s.

King organized and led marches for blacks' right to votedesegregationlabor rightsand other basic civil rights. The SCLC used tactics of nonviolent protest with great success by strategically choosing the methods and places in which protests were carried out. There were often dramatic stand-offs with segregationist authorities, who sometimes turned violent.

On September 20,King was signing copies of his book Stride Toward Freedom in Blumstein's department store in Harlem [ ] when Izola Curry —a mentally ill black woman who thought that King was conspiring against her with communists—stabbed him in the chest with a letter opener, which nearly impinged on the aorta. King received first aid by police officers Al Howard and Philip Romano.

Cordice ; he remained hospitalized for several weeks. Curry was later found mentally incompetent to stand trial. Georgia governor Ernest Vandiver expressed open hostility towards King's return. He claimed that "wherever M. King Jr. King was cited for "driving without a license" because he had not yet been issued a Georgia license. King's Alabama license was still valid, and Georgia law did not mandate any time limit for issuing a local license.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Student Movement had been acting to desegregate businesses and public spaces, organizing the Atlanta sit-ins from March onwards. In August the movement asked King to participate in a mass October sit-in, timed to highlight how 's Presidential election campaigns had ignored civil rights. The coordinated day of action took place on October King participated in a sit-in at the restaurant inside Rich'sAtlanta's largest department store, and was among the many arrested that day.

The authorities released everyone over the next few days, except for King. Invoking his probationary plea deal, judge J. Oscar Mitchell sentenced King on October 25 to four months of hard labor. Before dawn the next day, King was transported to Georgia State Prison. The arrest and harsh sentence drew nationwide attention. Many feared for King's safety, as he started a prison sentence with people convicted of violent crimes, many of them White and hostile to his activism.

Nixon, with whom King had a closer relationship before, declined to make a statement despite a personal visit from Jackie Robinson requesting his intervention. Nixon's opponent John F. Kennedy called the governor a Democrat directly, enlisted his brother Robert to exert more pressure on state authorities, and, at the personal request of Sargent Shrivercalled King's wife to offer his help.

The pressure from Kennedy and others proved effective, and King was released two days later. King's father decided to openly endorse Kennedy's candidacy for the November 8 election which he narrowly won. After the October 19 sit-ins and following unrest, a day truce was declared in Atlanta for desegregation negotiations. However, the negotiations failed and sit-ins and boycotts resumed for several months.

On March 7,a group of Black elders including King notified student leaders that a deal had been reached: the city's lunch counters would desegregate in fallin conjunction with the court-mandated desegregation of schools. In a large meeting on March 10 at Warren Memorial Methodist Church, the audience was hostile and frustrated. King then gave an impassioned speech calling participants to resist the "cancerous disease of disunity", helping to calm tensions.

The movement mobilized thousands of citizens for a nonviolent attack on every aspect of segregation in the city and attracted nationwide attention. When King first visited on December 15,he "had planned to stay a day or so and return home after giving counsel. According to King, "that agreement was dishonored and violated by the city" after he left.

Three days into his sentence, Police Chief Laurie Pritchett discreetly arranged for King's fine to be paid and ordered his release. But for the first time, we witnessed being kicked out of jail. After nearly a year of intense activism with few tangible results, the movement began to deteriorate. King requested a halt to all demonstrations and a "Day of Penance" to promote nonviolence and maintain the moral high ground.

Divisions within the black community and the canny, low-key response by local government defeated efforts. After Albany, King sought to choose engagements for the SCLC in which he could control the circumstances, rather than entering into pre-existing situations. The campaign used nonviolent but intentionally confrontational tactics, developed in part by Wyatt Tee Walker.

Black people in Birmingham, organizing with the SCLC, occupied public spaces with marches and sit-insopenly violating laws that they considered unjust. King's intent was to provoke mass arrests and "create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. Over the concerns of an uncertain King, SCLC strategist James Bevel changed the course of the campaign by recruiting children and young adults to join the demonstrations.

The Birmingham Police Department, led by Eugene "Bull" Connorused high-pressure water jets and police dogs against protesters, including children. Footage of the police response was broadcast on national television news, shocking many white Americans and consolidating black Americans behind the movement. In some cases, bystanders attacked the police, who responded with force.

King and the SCLC were criticized for putting children in harm's way. But the campaign was a success: Connor lost his job, the "Jim Crow" signs came down, and public places became more open to blacks. King's reputation improved immensely. King was arrested and jailed early in the campaign—his 13th arrest [ ] out of The letter has been described as "one of the most important historical documents penned by a modern political prisoner ".

King, representing the SCLCwas among the leaders of the " Big Six " civil rights organizations who were instrumental in the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedomwhich took place on August 28, Farmer Jr. Bayard Rustin 's open homosexuality, support of socialismand former ties to the Communist Party USA caused many white and African-American leaders to demand King distance himself from Rustin, [ ] which King agreed to do.

However, the organizers were firm that the march would proceed. President Kennedy was concerned the turnout would be less thanand enlisted the aid of additional church leaders and Walter Reutherpresident of the United Automobile Workersto help mobilize demonstrators. The march originally was planned to dramatize the desperate condition of blacks in the southern U.

Organizers intended to denounce the federal government for its failure to safeguard the civil rights and physical safety of civil rights workers and blacks. The group acquiesced to presidential pressure, and the event ultimately took on a far less strident tone. At the time, it was the largest gathering of protesters in Washington, D. King delivered a minute speech, later known as " I Have a Dream ".

In the speech's most famous passage — in which he departed from his prepared text, possibly at the prompting of Mahalia Jacksonwho shouted behind him, "Tell them about the dream! I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippia state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

Augustine, Florida. Hayling's group had been affiliated with the NAACP but was forced out of the organization for advocating armed self-defense alongside nonviolent tactics. However, the pacifist SCLC accepted them. Augustineincluding a delegation of rabbis and the year-old mother of the governor of Massachusetts, all of whom were arrested.

During this movement, the Civil Rights Act of was passed. This was a symposium that brought together many civil rights leaders. In his remarks, King referred to a conversation he had recently had with Jawaharlal Nehru in which he compared the sad condition of many African Americans to that of India's untouchables. He also discusses the next phase of the civil rights movement and integration.

Starting in NovemberKing supported a labor strike by several hundred workers at the Scripto factory in Atlanta, just a few blocks from Ebenezer Baptist. This injunction temporarily halted civil rights activity until King defied it by speaking at Brown Chapel on January 2, The first attempt to march on March 7,at which King was not present, was aborted because of mob and police violence against the demonstrators.

This day has become known as Bloody Sunday and was a major turning point in the effort to gain public support for the civil rights movement. It was the clearest demonstration up to that time of the dramatic potential of King and Bevel's nonviolence strategy. On March 5, King met with officials in the Johnson Administration to request an injunction against any prosecution of the demonstrators.

He did not attend the march due to church duties, but he later wrote, "If I had any idea that the state troopers would use the kind of brutality they did, I would have felt compelled to give up my church duties altogether to lead the line. King next attempted to organize a march for March 9. The SCLC petitioned for an injunction in federal court against Alabama; this was denied and the judge issued an order blocking the march until after a hearing.

Nonetheless, King led marchers on March 9 to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, then held a short prayer session before turning the marchers around and asking them to disperse so as not to violate the court order. The unexpected ending of this second march aroused the surprise and anger of many within the local movement. King stated that equal rights for African Americans could not be far away, "because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice" and "you shall reap what you sow".

Inafter several successes in the south, King, Bevel, and others in the civil rights organizations took the movement to the North. King and Ralph Abernathy, both from the middle class, moved into a building at S. Hamlin Avenue, in the slums of North Lawndale [ ] on Chicago's West Side, as an educational experience and to demonstrate their support and empathy for the poor.

King later stated and Abernathy wrote that the movement received a worse reception in Chicago than in the South. Marches, especially the one through Marquette Park on August 5,were met by thrown bottles and screaming throngs. Rioting seemed very possible. Daley to cancel a march in order to avoid the violence that he feared would result. When King and his allies returned to the South, they left Jesse Jacksona seminary student who had previously joined the movement in the South, in charge of their organization.

A CIA document declassified in downplayed King's role in the "black militant situation" in Chicago, with a source stating that King "sought at least constructive, positive projects. The black revolution is much more than a struggle for the rights of Negroes. It is forcing America to face all its interrelated flaws—racism, poverty, militarism, and materialism.

It is exposing evils that are rooted deeply in the whole structure of our society. It reveals systemic rather than superficial flaws and suggests that radical reconstruction of society itself is the real issue to be faced. We must recognize that we can't solve our problem now until there is a radical redistribution of economic and political power We must see now that the evils of racism, economic exploitation, and militarism are all tied together… you can't really get rid of one without getting rid of the others… the whole structure of American life must be changed.

America is a hypocritical nation and [we] must put [our] own house in order. King was long opposed to American involvement in the Vietnam War[ ] but at first avoided the topic in public speeches to avoid the interference with civil rights goals that criticism of President Johnson's policies might have created. A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth.

With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say: "This is not just. King opposed the Vietnam War because it took money and resources that could have been spent on social welfare at home.

He summed up this aspect by saying, "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. King's opposition cost him significant support among white allies including President Johnson, Billy Grahamunion leaders, and powerful publishers. The "Beyond Vietnam" speech reflected King's evolving political advocacy in his later years, which paralleled the teachings of the progressive Highlander Research and Education Centerwith which he was affiliated.

King stated in "Beyond Vietnam" that "true compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar King's stance on Vietnam encouraged Allard K. LowensteinWilliam Sloane Coffin and Norman Thomaswith the support of anti-war Democrats, to attempt to persuade King to run against President Johnson in the presidential election. King contemplated but ultimately decided against the proposal as he felt uneasy with politics and considered himself better suited to activism.

At the U. King brought up issues of civil rights and the draft:. I have not urged a mechanical fusion of the civil rights and peace movements. There are people who have come to see the moral imperative of equality, but who cannot yet see the moral imperative of world brotherhood. I would like to see the fervor of the civil-rights movement imbued into the peace movement to instill it with greater strength.

And I believe everyone has a duty to be in both the civil-rights and peace movements. But for those who presently choose but one, I would hope they will finally come to see the moral roots common to both. Seeing an opportunity to unite civil rights and anti-war activists, [ ] Bevel convinced King to become even more active in the anti-war effort.

The importance of the hippies is not in their unconventional behavior, but in the fact that hundreds of thousands of young people, in turning to a flight from reality, are expressing a profoundly discrediting view on the society they emerge from. On January 13,King called for a large march on Washington against "one of history's most cruel and senseless wars": [ ] [ ].

We need to make clear in this political year, to congressmen on both sides of the aisle and to the president of the United States, that we will no longer tolerate, we will no longer vote for men who continue to see the killings of Vietnamese and Americans as the best way of advancing the goals of freedom and self-determination in Southeast Asia.

In his nomination, King said, "I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of [this prize] than this gentle monk from Vietnam. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenismto world brotherhood, to humanity". King traveled the country to assemble "a multiracial army of the poor" that would march on Washington to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience at the Capitol until Congress created an "economic bill of rights".

King quoted from Henry George 's book Progress and Povertyparticularly in support of a guaranteed basic income. He felt that Congress had shown "hostility to the poor" by spending "military funds with alacrity and generosity". He contrasted this with the situation faced by poor Americans, claiming that Congress had merely provided "poverty funds with miserliness".

The Poor People's Campaign was controversial even within the civil rights movement. Rustin resigned from the march, stating that the goals of the campaign were too broad, that its demands were unrealizable, and that he thought that these campaigns would accelerate repression on the poor and the black. King was one of the signatories of the agreement to convene a convention for drafting a world constitution.

The workers had been on strike since March 12 for higher wages and better treatment. In one incident, black street repairmen received pay for two hours when they were sent home because of bad weather, but white employees were paid for the full day. King's flight to Memphis had been delayed by a bomb threat against his plane. And then I got to Memphis.

And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? 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. So 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. King was booked in Room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Ralph Abernathywho was present at the assassination, testified to the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations that King and his entourage stayed at Room so often that it was known as the "King-Abernathy suite".

Play it real pretty. King was fatally shot by James Earl Ray at p. The bullet entered through his right cheek, smashing his jaw, then traveled down his spinal cord before lodging in his shoulder. After emergency surgery, King died at St. Joseph's Hospital at p. National Historical Park. The assassination led to race riots in Washington, D. Kennedy was on his way to Indianapolis for a campaign rally when he was informed of King's death.

He gave a short, improvised speech to the gathering of supporters informing them of the tragedy and urging them to continue King's ideal of nonviolence. The plan to set up a shantytown in Washington, D. Criticism of King's plan was subdued in the wake of his death, and the SCLC received an unprecedented wave of donations to carry it out.

The campaign officially began in Memphis, on May 2, at the hotel where King was murdered. King picked Dr. Taking the reader on a journey of rediscovery of the King legend, he draws on new archives as well as unpublished letters. Carson examines his decades-long quest to understand Martin Luther King, Jr. I may not get there with you.

Harvin eadon biography of martin luther king

But I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. In this concise biography, Harvard Sitkoff presents a stunningly relevant King. But these are not treated as predetermined high points in a life celebrated for its role in a civil rights struggle too many Americans have quickly relegated to the past. Augustine, Florida; as a leader of ever more strident activists; as a husband.

InDr. With a universal message of hope that continues to resonate, King demanded an end to global suffering, asserting that humankind-for the first time-has the resources and technology to eradicate poverty. Berdis Baldwin, Alberta King, and Louise Little were all born at the beginning of the 20th century and forced to contend with the prejudices of Jim Crow as Black women.

These three extraordinary women passed their knowledge to their children with the hope of helping them to survive in a society that would deny their humanity from the very beginning — from Louise teaching her children about their activist roots, to Berdis encouraging James to express himself through writing, to Alberta basing all of her lessons in faith and social justice.

These women used their strength and motherhood to push their children toward greatness, all with a conviction that every human being deserves dignity and respect despite the rampant discrimination they faced. Search the Wayback Machine Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass. Sign up for free Log in. The autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Bookreader Item Preview. It appears your browser does not have it turned on. Please see your browser settings for this feature. EMBED for wordpress. Want more? Speaking at the University of Oslo in Norway, King pondered why he was receiving the Nobel Prize when the battle for racial justice was far from over, before acknowledging that it was in recognition of the power of nonviolent resistance.

He then compared the foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement to the ground crew at an airport who do the unheralded-yet-necessary work to keep planes running on schedule. At the end of the bitterly fought Selma-to-Montgomery march, King addressed a crowd of 25, supporters from the Alabama State Capitol. Offering a brief history lesson on the roots of segregation, King emphasized that there would be no stopping the effort to secure full voting rights, while suggesting a more expansive agenda to come with a call to march on poverty.

Explaining why his conscience had forced him to speak up, King expressed concern for the poor American soldiers pressed into conflict thousands of miles from home, while pointedly faulting the U. The well-known orator delivered his final speech the day before he died at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. They were married on June 18,and had four children—two daughters and two sons—over the next decade.

The couple welcomed Bernice King in In addition to raising the children while Martin travelled the country, Coretta opened their home to organizational meetings and served as an advisor and sounding board for her husband. His lengthy absences became a way of life for their children, but Martin III remembered his father returning from the road to join the kids playing in the yard or bring them to the local YMCA for swimming.

Leery of accumulating wealth as a high-profile figure, Martin Jr. However, he was known to splurge on good suits and fine dining, while contrasting his serious public image with a lively sense of humor among friends and family. Due to his relationships with alleged Communists, King became a target of FBI surveillance and, from late until his death, a campaign to harvin eadon biography of martin luther king the civil rights activist.

Edgar Hooverwhich urged King to kill himself if he wanted to prevent news of his dalliances from going public. Inhistorian David Garrow wrote of explosive new allegations against King following his review of recently released FBI documents. Among the discoveries was a memo suggesting that King had encouraged the rape of a parishioner in a hotel room as well as evidence that he might have fathered a daughter with a mistress.

The original surveillance tapes regarding these allegations are under judicial seal until From late throughKing expanded his civil rights efforts into other larger American cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles. He was met with increasing criticism and public challenges from young Black power leaders. To address this criticism, King began making a link between discrimination and poverty, and he began to speak out against the Vietnam War.

He sought to broaden his base by forming a multiracial coalition to address the economic and unemployment problems of all disadvantaged people. Bythe years of demonstrations and confrontations were beginning to wear on King. He had grown tired of marches, going to jail, and living under the constant threat of death. He was becoming discouraged at the slow progress of civil rights in America and the increasing criticism from other African American leaders.

In the spring ofa labor strike by Memphis, Tennessee, sanitation workers drew King to one last crusade. Longevity has its place. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. In SeptemberKing survived an attempt on his life when a woman with mental illness stabbed him in the chest as he signed copies of his book Stride Toward Freedom in a New York City department store.

King died at age The shocking assassination sparked riots and demonstrations in more than cities across the country. The shooter was James Earl Raya malcontent drifter and former convict. He initially escaped authorities but was apprehended after a two-month international manhunt. InRay pleaded guilty to assassinating King and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

Another complicating factor is the confession of tavern owner Loyd Jowers, who said he contracted a different hit man to kill King. In Junemore than two years after Ray died, the U. Years after his death, he is the most widely known Black leader of his era. His life and work have been honored with a national holiday, schools and public buildings named after him, and a memorial on Independence Mall in Washington D.

Over the years, extensive archival studies have led to a more balanced and comprehensive assessment of his life, portraying him as a complex figure: flawed, fallible, and limited in his control over the mass movements with which he was associated, yet a visionary leader who was deeply committed to achieving social justice through nonviolent means.

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