Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, an event that sent shock waves reverberating around the world. A then-college junior, Clara Ester was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee and rushed to Martin Luther King Junior’s side when he was shot.
A Baptist minister and founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), King had led the civil rights movement since the mid-1950s, using a combination of impassioned speeches and nonviolent protests to fight segregation and achieve significant civil-rights advances for African Americans.
His assassination led to an outpouring of anger among black Americans, as well as a period of national mourning that helped speed the way for an equal housing bill that would be the last significant legislative achievement of the civil rights era.
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination By Witness Clara Ester
