Remembering MLK Jr.'s Assassination 58 Years Later

The civil rights leader was killed in Memphis on April 4, 1968

Apr. 4, 2026 at 11:48pm

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On April 4, 1968, civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot while standing on the balcony outside his second-story room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. King had traveled to Memphis to support a sanitation workers' strike and was on his way to dinner when he was struck by a bullet that severed his spinal cord. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Why it matters

King's assassination was a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, sparking riots across the United States and leading to the deployment of National Guard troops in Memphis and Washington D.C. His death also marked the end of an era for the fight for racial equality and economic justice in America.

The details

In the months before his assassination, King became increasingly concerned with the problem of economic inequality in America. He organized a Poor People's Campaign to focus on the issue, including a march on Washington, and in March 1968 traveled to Memphis in support of poorly treated African-American sanitation workers. On March 28, a workers' protest march led by King ended in violence and the death of an African American teenager. King left the city but vowed to return in early April to lead another demonstration.

  • On April 3, 1968, King gave his last sermon in Memphis, saying, 'We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop...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.'
  • On April 4, 1968, King was fatally shot while standing on the balcony outside his second-story room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.
  • On April 9, 1968, King was laid to rest in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets to pay tribute to King's casket as it passed by in a wooden farm cart drawn by two mules.

The players

Martin Luther King Jr.

A prominent leader in the American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968. He advocated for nonviolent civil disobedience to protest racial discrimination against African Americans.

James Earl Ray

The escaped convict who was implicated in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Ray obtained a Canadian passport under a false identity and was the subject of a massive manhunt by the FBI in the weeks following King's murder.

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What they’re saying

“We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop...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.”

— Martin Luther King Jr., Civil Rights Leader

The takeaway

King's assassination marked a tragic turning point in the civil rights movement, but his legacy of nonviolent resistance and his dream of racial equality continue to inspire people around the world to this day.