Assassination of Martin Luther King

Historical Context Note

Lucas Paul Richert (University of Saskatchewan)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Domains

Attempts, Assassinations, Executions

Dates

Date of occurrence 1968-04-04

Places

United States (Location)

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On 4 April 1968, American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a sniper's bullet at his hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. The death of King sparked riots all over the United States. On 10 March 1969, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to the crime and was then sentenced to 99 years in prison. However, Ray announced that his confession had been made under duress; furthermore, he claimed to be a patsy in a larger conspiracy. Surprisingly, the King family came to support Ray's move to reopen his case.

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86 words

Citation: Richert, Lucas Paul. "Assassination of Martin Luther King". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 October 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1368, accessed 26 November 2024.]

Assassination of Martin Luther King

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