The Assassination Of Martin Luther King Research Paper
The Assassination of Martin Luther King
On the 4th of April 1968 Martin Luther King was assassinated by the convict James Earl Ray. He was shot on his hotel balcony though his neck and spinal cord at 6:05 in the evening; he died an hour later in St Joseph’s hospital, Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 39. James Earl Ray was locked in a bathroom of a motel less than 200 feet away from where Martin Luther was standing. It is thought that he killed him to be remembered or because he was extremely racist. Martin Luther was staying in the Lorraine Hotel, Memphis to lead a non-violent march of sanitation workers protesting against low wages and poor working conditions.
James Earl Ray grew up in the state Illinois; he was part of a poor family and had to move around a lot. He dropped out of school at 15 then went on to join the US army and served in Germany just after WW2 ended. James committed his first crime of a burglary and was convicted in California in 1949. This led to further convictions …show more content…
During the 1950’s blacks and whites were segregated on buses. The segregation led to blacks having to sit at the back of the bus and if all the white seats were full the black people were expected to give up their seats or they could be fined or even arrested. When a black American in Alabama called Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white man she was arrested. This started a 13 month bus boycott where black people were asked not to use the buses. Because the blacks most commonly used the buses it was hoped that the bus companies would go bankrupt. Martin Luther King also encouraged young people to take part in freedom rides. Freedom rides were where blacks and whites rode together on buses through the states in America where the buses were segregated. Unfortunatly freedom rides often caused the buses to be burnt and beaten, in some places even riots were
On the 4th of April 1968 Martin Luther King was assassinated by the convict James Earl Ray. He was shot on his hotel balcony though his neck and spinal cord at 6:05 in the evening; he died an hour later in St Joseph’s hospital, Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 39. James Earl Ray was locked in a bathroom of a motel less than 200 feet away from where Martin Luther was standing. It is thought that he killed him to be remembered or because he was extremely racist. Martin Luther was staying in the Lorraine Hotel, Memphis to lead a non-violent march of sanitation workers protesting against low wages and poor working conditions.
James Earl Ray grew up in the state Illinois; he was part of a poor family and had to move around a lot. He dropped out of school at 15 then went on to join the US army and served in Germany just after WW2 ended. James committed his first crime of a burglary and was convicted in California in 1949. This led to further convictions …show more content…
During the 1950’s blacks and whites were segregated on buses. The segregation led to blacks having to sit at the back of the bus and if all the white seats were full the black people were expected to give up their seats or they could be fined or even arrested. When a black American in Alabama called Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white man she was arrested. This started a 13 month bus boycott where black people were asked not to use the buses. Because the blacks most commonly used the buses it was hoped that the bus companies would go bankrupt. Martin Luther King also encouraged young people to take part in freedom rides. Freedom rides were where blacks and whites rode together on buses through the states in America where the buses were segregated. Unfortunatly freedom rides often caused the buses to be burnt and beaten, in some places even riots were