9781422277805

On the evening of April 3, 1968, King addressed the congregation at Mason Temple in Memphis. His friends Abernathy and Young later noted that King’s speech, which marked his last public appearance, ended with a stirring and prophetic allusion to his own death.

Memphis, he impulsively agreed to head a demonstration for the strikers. “I will lead you on a march through the center of Memphis,” he told the crowd. True to his word, on Thursday, March 28—a hot, uncomfortable day—King was back in town. The march began shortly after eleven o’clock in the morning, with King leading the way, Abernathy and the Memphis ministers at his side, their arms interlocked, their voices raised, singing “We Shall Overcome.” Slowly, they moved through the streets toward City Hall, and thousands followed. They had proceeded for only a few blocks when everything started to go wrong. Toward the rear of the march, some angry and undisciplined black youths started breaking store windows and lootingmerchandise. “We can’t have that!” King shouted after he heard the sound of glass shattering.

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C I V I L R I GH T S L E A D E R S : MA R T I N LU T H E R K I NG J R .