Martin Luther King Jr. assassination anniversary: Here are 5 landmarks that reveal civil rights struggle
Martin Luther King Jr. was shot useless 56 years in the past as we speak in Memphis, Tennessee.
His murderer “hoped to kill MLK’s great and widespread dream of unity,” Alveda King, the civil rights chief’s niece, shared with Fox News Digital in a message to be posted on Thursday morning, April 4, on social media.
The killer failed in his mission, King wrote in her message.
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“Praise God … The dream didn’t die with my uncle. His dream is alive, and so are our dreams; for our Lord Jesus is alive,” she wrote.
The evening earlier than he was murdered, the highly effective orator thundered prophetically from the pulpit of Bishop Charles Mason Temple in Memphis, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, addresses marchers throughout his “I Have a Dream”speech on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. August, 28, 1963. (AP Photo/File)
King Jr.’s demise was solely the primary of a number of tragedies suffered by the household. Rev. A.D. King, Martin’s little brother – Alveda King’s father – died below mysterious circumstances the next yr.
Her grandmother, Alberta King, additionally died shockingly. She was shot useless in 1974 in entrance of a Sunday congregation at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia from the place the King household led the civil rights motion.
“His dream is alive, and so are our dreams; for our Lord Jesus is alive.”
King Jr.’s life on Earth resulted in Memphis. But the civil rights motion he led marched throughout an unlimited swath of the nation.
Alveda King, when requested by Fox News Digital, prompt visiting these 5 landmarks within the civil rights motion to study extra in regards to the march for justice – and the worth paid by her household.
Alveda King, niece of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and daughter of Rev. A.D. King, throughout a gathering with interior metropolis pastors on the White House in Washington, D.C., Aug. 1, 2018. (JIM WATSON/AFP by way of Getty Images)
1. The A.D. King house in Birmingham, Alabama
Rev. A.D. King, simply 18 months youthful than his brother Martin Jr., was ministering on the First Baptist Church of Ensley and main the Birmingham Campaign of the civil rights motion within the tumultuous yr of 1963.
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Two bombs exploded on the reverend’s house in an assassination try on May 11, whereas he was house together with his spouse, Naomi, and 5 kids – together with Alveda King, who was simply 12 years previous on the time.
2. The start house of King kids in Atlanta, Georgia
The Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. and his spouse Alberta (Williams) King lived in a fantastic Queen Anne-style house at 501 Auburn Ave. after they welcomed three kids: daughter Willie Christine and her youthful brothers, Martin Jr. and Alfred Daniel (A.D.).
Civil rights leaders Revs. Martin Luther King Jr. and Alfred Daniel (A.D.) King have been born on this Atlanta house. (Prince Williams/FilmMagic)
The house as we speak is a centerpiece of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park.
The house is closed for an “extensive rehabilitation project” by means of Nov. 2025 following an tried arson assault in December 2023.
The exterior stays a coveted bucket-list vacation spot for pictures and selfies.
3. Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia
The congregation was based in 1886 with simply 13 members. Rev. Adam Daniel Williams, MLK’s Jr. grandfather, grew to become minister in 1894.
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The church blossomed and have become the non secular headquarters of the civil rights motion below the Williams-King household by the 1950s.
The Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia (Photo by: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group by way of Getty Images)
The church additionally grew well-known for its choir and music, led by Alberta King, Martin Jr.’s mom. The choir carried out on the Atlanta premier of the film “Gone with the Wind” in 1939.
Martin Luther King Jr. was each baptized at and mourned from Ebenezer Baptist on April 9, 1968. The funerals for each his brother and mom have been held on the church, as properly.
4. Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama
The bridge over the Alabama River grew to become the middle of world consideration on March 7, 1965, as civil rights demonstrators, marching to Birmingham in favor of voting rights, met a violent response on “Bloody Sunday.”
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“The televised attacks were seen all over the nation, prompting public support for the civil rights activists in Selma and for the voting rights campaign,” writes CivilRightsPath.com.
Demonstrators, together with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stream over an Alabama River bridge on the metropolis limits of Selma, Alabama. (AP Photo)
The Edmund Pettus Bridget as we speak is a National Historic Landmark and the frequent web site of occasions and commemorations in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and the battle for civil rights.
5. Monson Motor Lodge acid assault web site in St. Augustine, Florida
Now the Bayfront Motel, the Monson Motor Lodge was the scene of one of the vital uncommon and disturbing occasions within the march for civil rights.
Alveda King cited it as an almost forgotten occasion that speaks to the hazards confronted by civil rights activists.
A bi-racial group of individuals plunged into the motor-lodge swimming pool on June 18, 1964, to protest segregation.
“The searing image helped propel passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing discrimination in public places>”
James Brock, the supervisor of the inn, responded by pouring acid into the pool – a doubtlessly disfiguring and even lethal assault.
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Photos of the surprising incident hit newspapers nationally.
“The searing image helped propel passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing discrimination in public places,” First Coast News of Florida wrote final yr.
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