In April 1968, Rev. Martin Luther King was at the height of his popularity. He had mobilized the black masses of America against apartheid and won Civil Rights concessions which made Blacks and Whites equal in the eyes of the Law. But J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI, had an obsessional hatred of King and was determined to silence him. On the afternoon of April 4th, 1968, at his Memphis hotel, King was assassinated with a perfect shot. The search immediately centred on James Earl Ray, an escaped prisoner. But there are many who insist that Ray was just the fall-guy – and believe that the FBI set him up. Despite disturbing evidence, the case has never been opened for re-investigation.
See also Political Assinations series:
Martin Luther King | Robert F. Kennedy | Patrice Lumumba |
Olof Palme | Aldo Moro |