And that’s the way it was: April 4, 1968

Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, TN

At a motel in Memphis, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray on April 4, 1968. The 39-year-old civil rights leader was in the city to support an African American sanitation workers strike. One day earlier, King delivered his now-famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, the last public address of his life.

Newspapers across the country led with the assassination the next day. Here’s a small sampling:

New York Times

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Washington Post

New York Post

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today.

The Editors are the staffers of Columbia Journalism Review. Tags: , , ,