Page 32 - All About History - Issue 29-15

ASSASSINATION

mple stroll onto a motel balcony to the 4 April 1968
n unsuspecting assassin, we break
murder of a civil rights icon

n Luther King
ts Movement
all of their
ts Act had
a mere two
Housing Bill
the homes
ofallcitizens,wascoming into
effect. Equality was fast becoming
a reality, broadcast across the airwaves of every TV and radio
around the world, and King remained the triumphant face of
peaceful activism in defiance of age-old tensions and domestic
uncertainty. And so, with victory all but certain, King travelled
to Memphis for his last push to the mountaintop.

1 i5:30
Earlier in the day, ex-convict James Earl Ray
had used local news reports and newspapers to
determine where King would be staying. At about
3.30pm,herentsroom5Bintherun-downBessie
Brewster boarding house, situated across the street from
theLorraineMotel.Raythenheadsoutandpurchasesapair 1
ofbinocularsfor$41.55fromalocalstore,andreturnsto
theroomtowatchfromhisvantagepointattheboarding
house.Heusesaspotinthecommunalbathroomasa
sniping position and waits for King to appear.

2 i7:30
It’s a balmy evening in
Memphis Tennessee and
Martin Luther King Jr, key
membersofhisentourageandalarge
contingentofthemovementare
staying in the birthplace of rock and roll
following King’s delivery of the iconic
I’ve Been To The Mountaintop speech
at the Mason Temple the day before.
King is staying at the Lorraine Motel, a
two-storey building on Mulberry Street
in downtown Memphis. A popular choice
for King when staying in Bluff City, he
hasjustfinishedgettingreadyfora
dinnerwithlocalministerBillyKyles.

3 i8:0i 4 i8:0i
With his single shot striking true, James Earl
Booked into room 306, King has just finished
shaving (he’s running late due to an animated Ray begins preparing to leave. He places his
conversation with minister Kyles). A group of civil high-velocity rifle, binoculars, a small radio
rightsmembers(JamesBevel,ChaunceyEskridge, and a newspaper into a box and wraps it in an old
Jesse Jackson, Hosea Williams, Andrew Young and the driver green blanket. Mulberry Street and the surrounding area
Solomon Jones Jr) are waiting out front in a white Cadillac. hasalreadydescendedintochaos.Theshotwasloudand
Wiping away the shaving powder, King steps out onto the everyone knows King is staying across the street. Ray places
balcony. A single shot rings out; it strikes King through the thebundledboxoutsidetheCanipe’sAmusementStore
cheek.Kylesishalfwaydownthestairsoutsidewhenhe nexttotheboardinghouse.Hequicklywalkstohisnearby
hears the shot and rushes back to King’s room. car,awhiteMustang,anddrivesawayaspolicearrive.
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