1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:04,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to stuff you should know, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 2: Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh and there's 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 2: Chuck and it's just the two of us today, which 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 2: is fine because we need to keep our nose to 5 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,919 Speaker 2: the grindstone and really focus on a pair of really 6 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 2: important episodes which we kick off now. 7 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:29,760 Speaker 3: That's right. We haven't done a two parter in a while. 8 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: But as we got into the originally one part of 9 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 1: the assassination of Martin Luther King Junior, you were like, man, 10 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: there's a lot more here that we can just kind 11 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:42,000 Speaker 1: of explode this into a two parter. 12 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 2: Yeah, that was verbatim what I. 13 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 3: Said, and I said, let's do it. 14 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:49,440 Speaker 2: There was a ton of stuff that I did not 15 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:54,560 Speaker 2: know about mlk's assassination. Yeah, James lay like, there's a 16 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 2: lot of stuff around it, and it's just a reminder 17 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 2: that history gets so boiled down to like it's its 18 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:06,600 Speaker 2: bare essence or even like a caricature of itself, and 19 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:10,840 Speaker 2: when you really dig into like a historical event, you 20 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:14,520 Speaker 2: just you're just reminded that there's just so many people 21 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 2: affected and involved, and it's not just you know, James 22 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:22,760 Speaker 2: ear already shot Martin Luther King Junior, and you know, 23 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 2: the world mourned. I mean, right, that was all true, 24 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 2: but there was just so much more to it. So 25 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 2: hopefully we'll kind of get some of that across in. 26 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 1: This Yeah for sure. I mean, you know, we'll talk 27 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 1: about it some. But I went to I've been to 28 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:37,279 Speaker 1: the King Center, I've been in the Civil Rights Museum 29 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 1: in Memphis at the Lorraine Motel, and like I've thought, 30 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:42,399 Speaker 1: I knew a lot about this stuff, but until we 31 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:43,320 Speaker 1: do our job. 32 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:46,840 Speaker 3: Like we do, I learned a lot more. So it's 33 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:47,320 Speaker 3: pretty great. 34 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 2: So let's talk MLKA because he kind of skyrocketed to 35 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 2: prominence from just the start. He became involved in the 36 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 2: Montgomery bus boycott, which most people say kicked off the 37 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 2: Civil rights era in the United States thanks to Rosa Parks, 38 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 2: who we did an episode on Rosa Parks Agent of Change. 39 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:11,359 Speaker 2: You remember, that's. 40 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:11,959 Speaker 3: Right, was gay? 41 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:14,520 Speaker 1: Yeah for sure, And all this is just you know, 42 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:17,359 Speaker 1: so we're setting the table kind of as a lead 43 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 1: in to where things were in April of nineteen sixty eight. Yeah, 44 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:24,679 Speaker 1: so like you said, you know, twelve this year's earlier 45 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,799 Speaker 1: is when he really rose to prominence, and so much 46 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:32,280 Speaker 1: so that in February of fifty seven, he was on 47 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:33,760 Speaker 1: the cover of Time magazine. 48 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 3: Yeah. 49 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: So in nineteen sixty three he was Times Man of 50 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: the Year after being on the cover just you know, 51 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: a handful of years earlier. And in nineteen sixty four 52 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:45,800 Speaker 1: he won the Nobel Peace Prize. So he was one 53 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: of the most famous Americans by the early nineteen sixties. 54 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 2: Yes, But one of the things you don't learn about 55 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:57,080 Speaker 2: these days as often is that he was at that 56 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:04,119 Speaker 2: point beginning to become widely criticized, not just by white Americans, 57 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 2: many of whom have been criticizing them all along, but 58 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 2: by black Americans as well. There was a real division 59 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:17,880 Speaker 2: in the civil rights movement between Martin Luther King's vision 60 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 2: of his doctrine of non violence, which is basically saying like, hey, 61 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 2: we're going to essentially do everything we can to show 62 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 2: white Americans the problems that black Americans face just by 63 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 2: being black in America, and no matter what they do 64 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 2: to us, we're not going to fight back, and we're 65 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 2: going to make an example of ourselves that we'll hopefully 66 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 2: set for them. And the ultimate goal was to integrate 67 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 2: into America, to integrate black Americans into America, so that 68 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 2: there wasn't Black America in white America, and that ran 69 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 2: very much contrary to the other rival idea, which was 70 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 2: Malcolm X's idea. 71 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:05,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, and we haven't done one on Malcolm X yet, 72 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: so maybe we should. We should hit that up as 73 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: a follow up at some points, for sure. But yes, 74 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 1: this was, you know, sort of the other side of 75 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 1: the coin. Malcolm X believed in black separatism. He was like, 76 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:22,279 Speaker 1: this non violent approach isn't isn't working, and black people 77 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: cannot integrate into white America. It's a racist society and 78 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 1: it's just not possible. So we need self determination. Violence, 79 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,599 Speaker 1: you know, by any means necessary, is an acceptable sort 80 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: of avenue to achieve the goals of black determination, and 81 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:45,960 Speaker 1: especially considering violence is being inflicted upon black people by 82 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,279 Speaker 1: white people constantly, so it's time to fight back, like 83 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:51,679 Speaker 1: with fist and clubs and whatever else. 84 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, and again that's totally contrary to King's doctrine of 85 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:58,279 Speaker 2: non violence, which Malcolm X considered criminal, as he put it, 86 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:01,479 Speaker 2: in the face of just being beaten by whites just 87 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 2: for marching in the streets peacefully. And a big portion 88 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 2: of the people who are critical of King and his 89 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 2: nonviolentce doctrine were the younger generations, they tended to lean 90 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 2: more militantly, more in Malcolm X's direction, and then in 91 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 2: White America. With white Americans, he was basically never popular 92 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:25,840 Speaker 2: during his lifetime, at least with the majority of white Americans. 93 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, and we know this because you know, 94 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: they did polls back then. There were Gallop Poles that 95 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: found in nineteen sixty three through nineteen sixty six. Each 96 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: year found that fewer that forty percent of white Americans 97 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: viewed Martin Luther King Junior favorably. So one of the 98 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 1: other things that didn't help, besides his work in the 99 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:49,440 Speaker 1: you know, and civil rights, was his stance. 100 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:50,839 Speaker 3: On Vietnam and the war in Vietnam. 101 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: He was always against it, but really changed his stance 102 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,280 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty seven, started being really really vocal about 103 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,640 Speaker 1: it as far as publicly condemning the war, started leading 104 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: anti war marches, giving speeches against the war. One very 105 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 1: famous one was Beyond Vietnam Colon a Time to Break 106 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: the Silence speech he gave in New York City at 107 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:17,039 Speaker 1: Riverside Church and April actually exactly one year April fourth, 108 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty seven before his murder. And it was a 109 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 1: very controversial speech because it was his most adamant anti war, 110 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:30,080 Speaker 1: anti Vietnam speech yet, and he specifically called out America 111 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:33,800 Speaker 1: and the US military by sending a disproportionate number of 112 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:36,920 Speaker 1: you know, kind of poor black American boys to fight 113 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:37,360 Speaker 1: that war. 114 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, and so this was it's really hard to oversee 115 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 2: how controversial this speech was. Like he just stopped mincing 116 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 2: words and came out and said everything that needed to 117 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:50,479 Speaker 2: be said. And so his alliance with Lyndon Baine Johnson, 118 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 2: who was president at the time, was just chattered. Right 119 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:57,719 Speaker 2: then LBJ stepped away from him, publicly broke with him. 120 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 2: I think Laura helps out with this. She found one 121 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 2: hundred and sixty eight newspapers issued editorials denouncing him for 122 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 2: that speech. So that like he was already not super 123 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 2: popular with white Americans, his popularity was so so with 124 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 2: black Americans, and all Americans were now mad at him 125 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 2: for his stance on Vietnam, or a ton of them were. 126 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:26,360 Speaker 2: And then one of the other things that really proved 127 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 2: to be very difficult for him later in his life. 128 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 2: Later in his career was he shifted focus from strictly 129 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 2: civil rights for black Americans to economic justice for poor 130 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:44,720 Speaker 2: Americans of all races. He created something called the Poor 131 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 2: People's Campaign. He came up with an economic bill of 132 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:53,080 Speaker 2: rights that is essentially pretty socialists, I mean at its core. 133 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 2: And he also basically said, like, this campaign is also 134 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 2: going to be a shift not just in focus, in potency, 135 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 2: Like we're not going to be quite as peaceful as 136 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,280 Speaker 2: we were before. We're not going to go Malcolm X 137 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:11,760 Speaker 2: full on militant, but we're you can expect, you know, 138 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 2: I think he famously said, fifteen to sixteen percent more militancy. 139 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, and you know this ship so he already had, 140 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,560 Speaker 1: you know, people coming at him from all sides, and 141 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: now even within his own camp they didn't love it either. 142 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 1: His advisors and his staff didn't love this change of direction. 143 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 1: So you know, by the time April of nineteen sixty 144 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 1: eight rolls around, he's exhausted, he's tired, he's got people 145 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:43,200 Speaker 1: coming at him from every angle, even within his own camp, 146 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:46,680 Speaker 1: and he just wasn't at his peak personally or with 147 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 1: his career. 148 00:08:47,559 --> 00:08:50,600 Speaker 2: Right. So, Chuck, do you want to take a break now? 149 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:54,079 Speaker 1: Yeah, we've set the stage with where King was and 150 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:57,360 Speaker 1: we'll come back and then set the stage with Memphis, 151 00:08:57,440 --> 00:08:59,400 Speaker 1: and where Memphis was, well, it was in Tennessee, but 152 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 1: how Memphis was in April nineteen sixty eight. 153 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:36,640 Speaker 2: So in the spring of nineteen sixty eight, Memphis, Tennessee, 154 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:41,360 Speaker 2: which had previously prided itself on its white community and 155 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 2: black communities, kind of you know, fairly getting along, especially 156 00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 2: compared to some other places, like places in Alabama. It 157 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 2: was by this time in high tension as a town, 158 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:59,000 Speaker 2: and it was largely because of the Memphis sanitation workers strike. 159 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 2: Okay became very interested in helping further the goals of 160 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:07,000 Speaker 2: the Memphis sanitation workers in their strike because he basically 161 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:10,080 Speaker 2: saw this as like, this is a perfect bridge between 162 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 2: this transition from a focus just on civil rights to 163 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 2: this larger focus on poor people of all colors, because like, 164 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:24,679 Speaker 2: this was mostly almost exclusively black sanitation workers who were 165 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:29,439 Speaker 2: struggling for recognition of their work, dignity in their work, 166 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:33,319 Speaker 2: decent wages. Apparently if you were a full time sanitation 167 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:37,080 Speaker 2: worker in Memphis, you were still eligible for food stamps 168 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:41,319 Speaker 2: after your full salary. And he was like, this is 169 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,640 Speaker 2: this is exactly the perfect kind of thing that I'm 170 00:10:44,679 --> 00:10:47,840 Speaker 2: trying to get across, Like this is important. So he 171 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 2: kind of focused on Memphis in the spring of nineteen 172 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 2: sixty eight, and like I said, it was in a 173 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 2: state of high tension because a couple of protests, marches 174 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:02,400 Speaker 2: essentially to support the word workers had not really gone 175 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 2: really well previously. 176 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:07,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, but before these marches there was you know, there's 177 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:09,600 Speaker 1: already a strike going on. It just wasn't you know, 178 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:12,560 Speaker 1: full throttle at this point. What would really kick that 179 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 1: into gear were the very tragic deaths of two sanitation workers, 180 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 1: Echo Cole and Robert Walker. They were crushed to death 181 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:23,440 Speaker 1: their truck malfunction. They were trying to take shelter from 182 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:27,280 Speaker 1: the rain and were crushed by the truck, and the 183 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,840 Speaker 1: city didn't pay any compensation to their families at all. 184 00:11:31,559 --> 00:11:33,839 Speaker 1: So this is what really kind of triggered the mass 185 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:38,480 Speaker 1: walk off the job. Almost all the workers black sanitation 186 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:42,040 Speaker 1: workers went on strike at the time. And King was like, 187 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:45,520 Speaker 1: all right, I gotta get to Memphis. It's in trouble. 188 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:48,280 Speaker 1: It's an opportunity for me as well, like you said, 189 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:52,360 Speaker 1: to sort of help me segue into this other movement. 190 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:55,559 Speaker 1: And there were a couple of different marches. On March 191 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:58,880 Speaker 1: twenty eighth, he led a march of five thousand people 192 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 1: through Memphis, and almost right away it turned violent, not 193 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 1: by his hand, but it was a group called the Invaders. 194 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 1: It was a militant group of young African Americans who 195 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 1: were not on board with King. They were not on 196 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:17,080 Speaker 1: board with non violence obviously, and they started looting. They 197 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:21,800 Speaker 1: started breaking windows and stores. Police came in, and we 198 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:26,319 Speaker 1: all know the drill. At this point, people scatter, Police 199 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 1: are beating people, shooting at people. That was a sixteen 200 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:31,560 Speaker 1: year old named Larry Payne that was shot and killed 201 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:36,280 Speaker 1: by a police officer named Leslie Dean Jones. Sixty people injured. 202 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 1: And then all of a sudden, Memphis is under curfew 203 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:41,800 Speaker 1: and close to four thousand National guardsmen are brought in. 204 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:45,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, and this was on the heels of another march 205 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 2: the month before in February where protesters, including some ministers 206 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 2: who were marching were mazed by police. So Memphis just 207 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:58,440 Speaker 2: like basically almost like throwing a switch, went from like 208 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:02,000 Speaker 2: a generally o case city as far as race relations 209 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 2: were concerned, to like the National Guard is now here 210 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:09,319 Speaker 2: keeping order in like a month. That just changed that quickly. 211 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:16,079 Speaker 2: And because he was leading the march on March twenty eighth, 212 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:20,120 Speaker 2: King became totally, I don't want to say obsessed, but 213 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,880 Speaker 2: he was fully zeroed in on returning to Memphis to 214 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:27,959 Speaker 2: set things right. Yeah, because that was a huge black 215 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:32,520 Speaker 2: eye in his against him his career and in particular 216 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 2: his whole doctrine of nonviolence. And again, like the invaders 217 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:40,880 Speaker 2: were not related to what was going on, they essentially 218 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:46,839 Speaker 2: used this as a chance to mix things up, and 219 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:49,720 Speaker 2: King just basically wanted to go give it another try 220 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 2: and hopefully restore his reputation, hopefully restore the reputation of 221 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:56,320 Speaker 2: the civil rights movement he was leading. And he put 222 00:13:56,559 --> 00:14:01,160 Speaker 2: everything on the line to go back to Memphis and 223 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:03,720 Speaker 2: try it again because it could have gone wrong again 224 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:07,160 Speaker 2: and that would have really damaged things even further. A 225 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:10,120 Speaker 2: lot of his advisors were like, we don't need to 226 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:12,480 Speaker 2: go back to Memphis, Like we have a trip to 227 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:15,640 Speaker 2: Africa scheduled, and like, let's just follow through and we'll 228 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 2: leave it behind us, and he was like, no, we 229 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:20,120 Speaker 2: have to go back. So we actually canceled that Africa 230 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 2: trip and brought everyone back to Memphis and he got 231 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:27,640 Speaker 2: back there on April third, and that evening he gave 232 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:31,600 Speaker 2: what's been known today as is. I've been to the 233 00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 2: Mountaintop speech. Yeah, I believe it was his final speech. 234 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:38,760 Speaker 2: Gave it at the Mason Temple church in Memphis, and 235 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 2: it was a pretty significant speech, as you can imagine. 236 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 2: I mean, basically everyone's aware of this. But in it 237 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 2: he recounts in a previous assassination attempt that I had 238 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:52,840 Speaker 2: never heard of, had. 239 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: You, yeah, from visiting the museums. But it's certainly not 240 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:58,920 Speaker 1: something I don't think this like super widely known. 241 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 2: Right. Well, So he was signing a book at a 242 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:05,200 Speaker 2: department store when he was stabbed in a chest by 243 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:09,000 Speaker 2: a mentally ill woman named Isola Curry. Stabbed in the 244 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 2: chest but with a seven inch letter opener, and Isola 245 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 2: Curry was convinced that civil rights organizations like mlk's were 246 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:20,640 Speaker 2: tracking her, had singled her out, and we're tracking her, 247 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:24,480 Speaker 2: preventing her from getting employment, just generally messing with her life. 248 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:28,440 Speaker 2: And the papers all reported that the surgeon who treated 249 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:32,360 Speaker 2: MLKA obviously here survived, was that the letter opener came 250 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 2: so close to his heart that had he sneezed, it 251 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:38,640 Speaker 2: would have penetrated his aorda and killed him. So he 252 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:41,800 Speaker 2: really lucked out, and he talked about this, and I've 253 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 2: been to the mountaintop speech. But the thing that most 254 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 2: people remember about it is that he he in a 255 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 2: way almost predicted his death the following day in the 256 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 2: At the end of the. 257 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,040 Speaker 1: Speech, yeah, I mean, I'll go ahead and read it. 258 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:00,560 Speaker 1: He talked about not being around. He said anybody it 259 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:03,160 Speaker 1: would like to live along life. Longevity has its place, 260 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 1: but I'm not concerned about that now. 261 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:06,280 Speaker 3: I just want to do God's will. 262 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 1: And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain, 263 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,800 Speaker 1: and I've looked over and I've seen the Promised Land. 264 00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 1: I may not get there with you, but I want 265 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:15,400 Speaker 1: you to know tonight that we as a people will 266 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:19,800 Speaker 1: get to the Promised Land. So a definite sort of 267 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:22,200 Speaker 1: eerie thing to happen the night before his murder. 268 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:24,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, And I've read that some people are like he was. 269 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,680 Speaker 2: He felt like that death was close, that he didn't 270 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:31,160 Speaker 2: have much time left, So it makes sense that he 271 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:33,840 Speaker 2: would have put that in. I don't think he expected 272 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 2: to be murdered the next day, but he just I 273 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:39,920 Speaker 2: read that he sensed that he was not going to 274 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:40,920 Speaker 2: live much longer. 275 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, he had seen what happened with Kennedy 276 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 1: obviously what happened with Robert Kennedy afterward. But yeah, it 277 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 1: was those kind of things, you know, very sadly were 278 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:52,880 Speaker 1: we just much more common back then. 279 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:56,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, I was thinking about that, and just like living 280 00:16:56,400 --> 00:17:01,440 Speaker 2: in an era of assassinations, like success full assassinations of 281 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:04,560 Speaker 2: prominent political figures, one of whom was the president at 282 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:09,200 Speaker 2: the time. That's just nuts that America went through that period. 283 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:13,879 Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, I mean King Malcolm X, the two Kennedy's. Yeah, 284 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:17,879 Speaker 1: it's just a very fraught, fraught time in our history 285 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:20,560 Speaker 1: for sure. So he's back in town to hold a 286 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:22,879 Speaker 1: march to set the previous march right, and one of 287 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:25,680 Speaker 1: the things he had to do was get the invaders 288 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:28,480 Speaker 1: on board with not doing this again. So at the 289 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:32,040 Speaker 1: Lorraine Motel he was actually meeting with them. One of 290 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:34,280 Speaker 1: the things he did there was meet with them and 291 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:37,640 Speaker 1: negotiate a deal where like, hey, you guys, don't turn 292 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:40,399 Speaker 1: this thing violent. And they said, okay, we can do that. 293 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:42,919 Speaker 1: Give us some money, give us some cars, and give 294 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,800 Speaker 1: us a little more influence and we'll do that. So 295 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:49,920 Speaker 1: they were negotiating that. The march was actually planned for 296 00:17:50,119 --> 00:17:53,040 Speaker 1: April fourth, and this is one of those sort of 297 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:57,560 Speaker 1: sliding doors things. It was actually put on hold because 298 00:17:57,600 --> 00:17:59,919 Speaker 1: the city got an injunction to stop it from a 299 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:04,040 Speaker 1: federal court. And if that hadn't happened and he would 300 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:08,080 Speaker 1: have been marching on April fourth, perhaps James or Ray 301 00:18:08,119 --> 00:18:11,760 Speaker 1: would have continued to sort of pursue King because as 302 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:13,560 Speaker 1: we'll see, he had been following him around for about 303 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:18,160 Speaker 1: a month or maybe not. Maybe maybe that assassination never happens. 304 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: But because of that injunction, the march was delayed from 305 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:22,760 Speaker 1: April fourth. 306 00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:24,320 Speaker 3: King stayed in town. 307 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:28,199 Speaker 1: To go to court to help appeal that injunction, was 308 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:31,880 Speaker 1: in court on April fourth through the day and then 309 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 1: late that afternoon the judges said, all right, we can 310 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:35,359 Speaker 1: do this march. 311 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 3: It'll be next Monday. And King. 312 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:43,520 Speaker 1: So late that afternoon the judges said, all right, the 313 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:45,359 Speaker 1: march can go forward, but it's going to go forward 314 00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 1: next Monday. 315 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:51,000 Speaker 2: So that day on April fourth, it was the evening. 316 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,720 Speaker 2: It turns out Bono got it wrong in that song Pride. 317 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:59,520 Speaker 3: Because he says early, you know they corrected it, did they? Yeah? They? 318 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:01,480 Speaker 1: I never listened to much of it, but they put 319 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:05,600 Speaker 1: out a reimaginings of a bunch of their songs called 320 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 1: songs of Surrender. And like you said, it was early 321 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:10,879 Speaker 1: morning April fourth, shot rings out in the Memphis s 322 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 1: Guy and the song Pride in the Name of Love, 323 00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:15,560 Speaker 1: and he changed it to in the evening April fourth. 324 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:18,720 Speaker 2: Well, yes, that's much more accurate, because that's when it happened. 325 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:22,560 Speaker 2: King had just been grinding away in Memphis for two 326 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:25,719 Speaker 2: days by then, and he was staying in room three 327 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:29,639 Speaker 2: h six of the now very famous Lorraine Motel. That 328 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:32,159 Speaker 2: was the room that he usually took anytime he and 329 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:35,720 Speaker 2: his people were in Memphis. They stayed at the Lorraine 330 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:38,640 Speaker 2: Hotel because it was a black owned business and had 331 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,880 Speaker 2: been owned by Walter Bailey and his wife Laurie since 332 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:45,080 Speaker 2: the nineteen forties. It was listed in the Green Book 333 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:48,159 Speaker 2: even it was just a black owned business, and it 334 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:50,600 Speaker 2: was a nice hotel to stay in. And by the 335 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:55,919 Speaker 2: time the late afternoon early evening rolled around, MLK was 336 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:59,560 Speaker 2: late for a dinner at the Reverend Billy Kyle's house 337 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:03,920 Speaker 2: in Memphis, and they all started to leave to head 338 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:07,240 Speaker 2: to Billy Kyle's house for dinner, and he stepped outside 339 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:09,359 Speaker 2: of his room and onto the balcony and he was 340 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:12,840 Speaker 2: speaking down to some other members of his group. I 341 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:14,880 Speaker 2: think he told one of them to start the car 342 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:19,439 Speaker 2: and a shot did bring out and it hit MLK 343 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:20,800 Speaker 2: in the face. 344 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:25,359 Speaker 1: Yeah, sort of in the chin and jaw area and 345 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:31,280 Speaker 1: the neckline. There were there's that very famous photograph of 346 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:34,280 Speaker 1: the people, you know, his his group standing on the 347 00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:36,600 Speaker 1: on the balcony off I think like three guys are 348 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:41,440 Speaker 1: pointing across Mulberry Street, which ran between the Lorraine Motel 349 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:44,720 Speaker 1: and the what was it, the Bessie What boarding house? 350 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:46,639 Speaker 2: Bessie Brewers boarding House. 351 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:48,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, Bessie Brewers boarding House, and they were like, that's 352 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:52,080 Speaker 1: where the shot came from. The picture was taken by 353 00:20:52,359 --> 00:20:56,280 Speaker 1: a South African photographer named Joseph Lowe l o u 354 00:20:56,600 --> 00:20:59,840 Speaker 1: W became one of the most famous, you know photographs 355 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:03,040 Speaker 1: in a American history, of course. And the gentleman kneeling 356 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:07,520 Speaker 1: attending to King, trying to do whatever he could, that 357 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 1: was a guy named Meryll McCullough and he was an 358 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:19,120 Speaker 1: undercover cop who had infiltrated the invaders. So just by 359 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:22,520 Speaker 1: chance he was on hand as an undercover cop there 360 00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:25,720 Speaker 1: and he's the one that's that's kneeling kind of trying 361 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:29,440 Speaker 1: to tend to King again. He was shot at six 362 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:35,399 Speaker 1: oh one, was alive even at the hospital, barely, but 363 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:36,160 Speaker 1: he died just. 364 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:36,680 Speaker 3: An hour later. 365 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:38,680 Speaker 1: He's pronounced dead at the age of thirty nine at 366 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:39,879 Speaker 1: seven five pm. 367 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:47,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, and a doctor named Jerry T. Francisco was the 368 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:50,280 Speaker 2: medical examiner at Shelby County at the time, and he 369 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:54,760 Speaker 2: conducted it an autopsy, and he concluded that Martin Luther 370 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:57,320 Speaker 2: King was killed by a gunshot wound to the chin 371 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:01,560 Speaker 2: and neck with a total transaction action of the lower 372 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 2: cervical and upper thoracic spinal cord and other structures of 373 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:11,320 Speaker 2: the neck. I read somewhere that that Martin Luther King 374 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:16,080 Speaker 2: probably didn't even hear the shot that killed him. It 375 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:19,800 Speaker 2: just hit him so fast and was shot from a 376 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:23,560 Speaker 2: high powered rifle at you know, close enough by that 377 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:26,080 Speaker 2: like it would have he just wouldn't have heard it. 378 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,000 Speaker 2: And I was thinking it was possible that he died 379 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:33,280 Speaker 2: almost instantly. Had you read that he was still alive 380 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:35,280 Speaker 2: for a period like when he got to the hospital. 381 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:39,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, he was apparently just hanging on, you know, he 382 00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:42,560 Speaker 1: was alive in the ambulance. He was alive, I think 383 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:44,160 Speaker 1: shortly after he got to the hospital. 384 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:47,600 Speaker 2: Well, hopefully he was completely unconscious at the time. So 385 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:51,199 Speaker 2: I mean, it's my hope that he just had he 386 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:54,400 Speaker 2: just never knew what hit him or anything hit him. 387 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:57,880 Speaker 2: I didn't, Yeah, I didn't realize that. Yeah. I thought 388 00:22:57,880 --> 00:22:59,240 Speaker 2: he probably died instantly. 389 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:00,320 Speaker 3: Yeah. 390 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:02,760 Speaker 1: But when Francisco, that doctor, he you know, he described 391 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:06,360 Speaker 1: the gunshot wound, but he didn't fully dissect the path 392 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:06,919 Speaker 1: of the bullet. 393 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:08,119 Speaker 3: He didn't. 394 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:09,760 Speaker 1: He said he did that because he didn't want to 395 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:13,480 Speaker 1: deform the body any further. But that, of course, you know, 396 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:17,880 Speaker 1: would help out later with conspiracy theories as far as 397 00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:20,640 Speaker 1: you know, not having a full accounting of the path 398 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,240 Speaker 1: of the bullet, which we'll get into all that, I 399 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:27,600 Speaker 1: believe in part two. Yeah, but right after the shooting, 400 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:30,880 Speaker 1: like literally the minutes right afterward, there were two men 401 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,879 Speaker 1: in that boarding house who saw a guy leaving with 402 00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:37,520 Speaker 1: a suitcase and like a blanket bundled up that had 403 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:39,280 Speaker 1: a bunch of stuff in it, big enough to where 404 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:43,720 Speaker 1: it could have held a rifle. And what happened was, well, 405 00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:45,920 Speaker 1: there was another witness that said they saw a man 406 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,960 Speaker 1: passing I don't know how it's pronounced k k n 407 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 1: i p e kN iper cannip. 408 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:55,639 Speaker 2: Caneps. That's what I'm going CAP's. 409 00:23:55,640 --> 00:24:01,119 Speaker 1: Okaynie's Canep's Amusement Company, and just drop this bundle on 410 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 1: the front door of the store. You can, you know, 411 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: there's a picture of it if you if you look 412 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:07,240 Speaker 1: that up, and you can kind of see the rifle 413 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 1: poking out even And that's what they found. They found 414 00:24:10,359 --> 00:24:14,400 Speaker 1: some aftershave, they found portable radio, they found some brand 415 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:18,480 Speaker 1: new binoculars, a couple of cans of beer, and precisely 416 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:24,159 Speaker 1: a thirty out six Remington seven sixty game Master rifle 417 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:27,320 Speaker 1: with a scope, which is a hunting rifle. It's it's 418 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:30,120 Speaker 1: kind of a unique gun in that it's a it's 419 00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:32,960 Speaker 1: a long range rifle that's a pump action rifle, which 420 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:35,520 Speaker 1: usually they are bolt action rifles. 421 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,479 Speaker 2: Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, that is fairly unique. 422 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:44,160 Speaker 2: So yeah, that's that's pretty specific. At the boarding house too. 423 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:47,160 Speaker 2: At Bessie Brewer's boarding house, people who are staying there 424 00:24:48,119 --> 00:24:51,200 Speaker 2: later told police that they heard people, at least someone 425 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,720 Speaker 2: maybe going back and forth to the bathroom. This is 426 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,640 Speaker 2: a boarding house, so obviously there was a shared bathroom 427 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 2: rather than a bathroom in each room, and so somebody 428 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:03,520 Speaker 2: kept going to the bathroom, hanging out in the bathroom, 429 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:06,200 Speaker 2: coming out of the bathroom, going back to the bathroom, 430 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:11,040 Speaker 2: and the cops who investigated found scuff marks in the bathtub, 431 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:16,320 Speaker 2: obviously left by somebody's shoes, And the bathtub was where 432 00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:19,520 Speaker 2: you would have had to stood to see out the 433 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:23,359 Speaker 2: window to have a shot at Martin Luther King on 434 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:27,119 Speaker 2: the balcony. So the people in the boarding house heard 435 00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:32,400 Speaker 2: mlk's assassin. The question was who it was, And obviously 436 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:34,239 Speaker 2: we know now it was James Earl Ray, but at 437 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:35,359 Speaker 2: the time they didn't realize that. 438 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:38,520 Speaker 1: Also, like two minutes later, the shooting had been radioed 439 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:41,840 Speaker 1: into the police, and just five minutes later, at six 440 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:45,320 Speaker 1: point eight, the owner of that amusement company told police 441 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,320 Speaker 1: that he saw a white man running through the alley 442 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:51,880 Speaker 1: and actually saw him drop that bundle and then flee 443 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:53,640 Speaker 1: the scene in a white Ford Mustang. 444 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:57,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll talk about the investigation and everything like that 445 00:25:57,080 --> 00:25:59,880 Speaker 2: in part two, but I say we take our second break, 446 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:04,160 Speaker 2: come back and talk about what happened after MLK died. 447 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:40,199 Speaker 1: So, you know, very famously, Walter Cronkite came on the 448 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:43,760 Speaker 1: news and very somberly told the nation what had happened 449 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:48,280 Speaker 1: on the CBS Nightly News President Johnson declared the next day, 450 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:50,040 Speaker 1: April seventh, the National Day of Morning. 451 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:52,040 Speaker 3: Flags went to half staff. 452 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,120 Speaker 1: A lot of businesses around the country closed for the day, 453 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:59,359 Speaker 1: and he said, Johnson said on TV, the dream of 454 00:26:59,359 --> 00:27:01,560 Speaker 1: doctor Martin Luther King, Junior has not died with him. 455 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:04,399 Speaker 1: Men who are white, men who are black, must and 456 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:06,720 Speaker 1: will now join together as never in the past, to 457 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:09,800 Speaker 1: let all the forces of divisiveness know that America should 458 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:12,040 Speaker 1: not be ruled by the bullet, but only by the 459 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,200 Speaker 1: ballot of free and of just men. 460 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:18,439 Speaker 2: Yeah. So, yeah, like you said, the National Day of 461 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:22,400 Speaker 2: Morning was April seventh, But throughout that whole period, from 462 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:27,040 Speaker 2: the day that his assassination took place to his funeral, 463 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:29,639 Speaker 2: there was a lot of places closed down. 464 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:30,120 Speaker 3: Yeah. 465 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:33,399 Speaker 2: And I saw Chuck that on the day of his funeral, 466 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 2: the New York Stock Exchange closed, which is pretty significant. 467 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:37,200 Speaker 3: Yeah. 468 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:40,760 Speaker 2: The NBA and the NHL were in their playoffs and 469 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:45,280 Speaker 2: they rescheduled their games, but the Major League Baseball they 470 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:50,280 Speaker 2: did not postpone opening day, much to their discredit. But 471 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:53,679 Speaker 2: Roberto Clemente and Maury Willis as the Pirates, said, well, 472 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:57,120 Speaker 2: we're not playing today. It's Martin Luther King Junior's funeral. 473 00:27:57,280 --> 00:27:57,760 Speaker 3: That's great. 474 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:01,320 Speaker 2: We're not going to disrespect it like that. And they 475 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:04,560 Speaker 2: inspired players on other teams to sit it out too, 476 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:08,080 Speaker 2: So from what I saw, effectively, opening Day was postponed 477 00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:11,000 Speaker 2: for a number of teams, if not all, of MLB. 478 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:13,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, and hey, we did do a good episode on 479 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:15,360 Speaker 1: Roberto Clemente, remember that one. 480 00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:17,000 Speaker 2: Yep, that was a good one. 481 00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:23,399 Speaker 1: So all across the country, you know, people react with 482 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:28,359 Speaker 1: extreme upset, which led to violence and some rioting and 483 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:32,400 Speaker 1: uprising in like one hundred and twenty five cities over 484 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:35,200 Speaker 1: the course of a few days. Thirty nine people were killed, 485 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:40,160 Speaker 1: thirty five hundred people were injured, fifty thousand federal troops 486 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:44,640 Speaker 1: you know, dispatched all over the country basically except New 487 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:46,320 Speaker 1: York and Los Angeles. There were a couple of the 488 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:49,680 Speaker 1: only major cities that they managed to kind of talk 489 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:53,080 Speaker 1: people down. Atlanta too, Oh, Atlanta as well. 490 00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 3: That's great. 491 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:57,920 Speaker 1: So despite the fact that you know, black folks and 492 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:01,120 Speaker 1: a lot of white folks are mourning this death, it 493 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 1: also sort of widened the rift because it became a 494 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:09,240 Speaker 1: symbol all of a sudden as white America's rejection of 495 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:14,320 Speaker 1: equal rights basically and white Americans rejection of non violence 496 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:19,320 Speaker 1: by literally dying by a bullet a nonviolent man. But 497 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:21,360 Speaker 1: there were you know, it wasn't just this. This is 498 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:24,520 Speaker 1: sort of the straw that broke the camels back with 499 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:27,000 Speaker 1: just sort of every the state of things in nineteen 500 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:28,520 Speaker 1: sixty eight with race relations. 501 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:31,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, I would call it more like a match thrown 502 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:36,880 Speaker 2: on a powder keg. The just the explosive reaction was, 503 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 2: like you said, not just because of mlk's assassination, but 504 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:43,960 Speaker 2: that was the thing that set it off previously, the 505 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:47,120 Speaker 2: summer before it was called the long Hot Summer. Yeah, 506 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:50,320 Speaker 2: because there have been a ton of riots nationwide in 507 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:54,800 Speaker 2: cities like Detroit, there was five days of rioting. It 508 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:58,720 Speaker 2: just kept happening all over the place in black communities 509 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:02,520 Speaker 2: around the United State States. And there were reasons for this. 510 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:07,960 Speaker 2: There were like segregation had officially ended, but in practice 511 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:11,880 Speaker 2: there was tons of segregation left, especially kinds of like 512 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:18,040 Speaker 2: housing discrimination that essentially created black ghettos in downtown American 513 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:22,280 Speaker 2: cities that white Americans had left for the suburbs. And 514 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,040 Speaker 2: then they were starting to build highways through these cities, 515 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:28,040 Speaker 2: and it was tough to find employment, and the city 516 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:31,440 Speaker 2: itself didn't usually maintain stuff there. So it was crumbling 517 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:34,920 Speaker 2: and deteriorating. So there was a ton of frustration already, 518 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:37,640 Speaker 2: and there had been riots already, but there were a 519 00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:40,440 Speaker 2: ton of them after MLK passed as well. 520 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:46,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know, there was a legitimate fear that 521 00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:48,640 Speaker 1: a race work could break out in the United States. 522 00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:53,560 Speaker 1: It wasn't I don't think it was overstated looking back, 523 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:56,360 Speaker 1: that that was a very real thing that could have happened. 524 00:30:57,280 --> 00:30:59,280 Speaker 1: And there were you know, there was one editorial writer 525 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:02,640 Speaker 1: who basically in the month after the assassination was like, 526 00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:05,200 Speaker 1: King was the one that was preventing this from happening, 527 00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:08,640 Speaker 1: So we may be in trouble here in the United States, 528 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:13,240 Speaker 1: like real trouble. Thankfully that didn't happen obviously, but like 529 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:14,840 Speaker 1: we said, a lot of these cities, you know, people 530 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:19,719 Speaker 1: were killed, arrested, buildings were burned. Wilmington, Delaware was occupied 531 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:23,360 Speaker 1: by the National Guard for a year afterward, and looking back, 532 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:27,520 Speaker 1: it's looked as basically it was just a harassment campaign 533 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:28,800 Speaker 1: that made things worse. 534 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:31,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, the mayor was like, Okay, you guys can leave 535 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:36,960 Speaker 2: pretty shortly after things calmed down, but the governor was like, no, 536 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:39,880 Speaker 2: we're going to stay. We're going to keep them here 537 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:43,360 Speaker 2: for a year. It was very odd. It was the 538 00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:49,760 Speaker 2: longest occupation of any American city ever, which is I mean, 539 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:52,360 Speaker 2: you just don't think of Wilmington, Delaware, stuff like that 540 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:54,160 Speaker 2: happening to Wilmington, Delaware. 541 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 3: Yeah. 542 00:31:55,800 --> 00:32:01,360 Speaker 1: One of this sort of positive things that happened after this, 543 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:03,360 Speaker 1: and it's hard to even frame it like that. But 544 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:07,680 Speaker 1: Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King's widow, did finish the 545 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:10,920 Speaker 1: job in Memphis on April eighth. She did lead that 546 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:14,280 Speaker 1: march with her four small kids, along with forty thousand 547 00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:15,800 Speaker 1: other people, in a silent march. 548 00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:17,000 Speaker 3: And that was King. 549 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:19,880 Speaker 1: You know, Martin Luther King was so adamant about going 550 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:22,840 Speaker 1: back to Memphis and having a non violent march. So 551 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:25,480 Speaker 1: it was, you know, special that she was able to 552 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:26,080 Speaker 1: see that through. 553 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:30,480 Speaker 2: Yeah. And imagine seeing forty thousand people pass by you silently, 554 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:32,520 Speaker 2: how powerful that would be to see. 555 00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:33,480 Speaker 3: Yeah. 556 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:37,360 Speaker 2: So the following day, after Coreta Scott King led the 557 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:42,640 Speaker 2: Memphis march that MLK had set out to lead, his 558 00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:46,600 Speaker 2: funeral was held in Atlanta at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where 559 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:50,120 Speaker 2: he had been a preacher, and I think his father 560 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:52,040 Speaker 2: was the preacher there. At the time. Is that right. 561 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:56,440 Speaker 1: I'm not sure. It's like four miles from my house. Yeah, 562 00:32:56,560 --> 00:32:57,560 Speaker 1: right in the middle of Atlanta. 563 00:32:57,800 --> 00:32:58,280 Speaker 3: I don't know. 564 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:01,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, I was gonna say later, but that that whole 565 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:04,960 Speaker 2: area that's called the Sweet Auburn Community, Yeah, it's awesome. 566 00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:09,760 Speaker 2: Is largely preserved like it was around King's death. Like 567 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:13,440 Speaker 2: they they you know, there's still new businesses and people 568 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:16,320 Speaker 2: move in and out, but they they've really gone to 569 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:19,160 Speaker 2: a lot of trouble to preserve like how it looked. 570 00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:23,080 Speaker 2: The National Park Service is preserved it. And and like 571 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:25,840 Speaker 2: you said, you toured the King Center. That's an amazing 572 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:28,600 Speaker 2: place to to go as well. But I thought that 573 00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:32,760 Speaker 2: was really cool that it's been designated a National Historic Site. Yeah, 574 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:33,720 Speaker 2: it's under protection. 575 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:36,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, which is always a little odd when you're driving 576 00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:40,200 Speaker 1: through that area and you see a park ranger in 577 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:40,880 Speaker 1: the middle of the city. 578 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:41,640 Speaker 3: You're like, what's going on. 579 00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:45,680 Speaker 1: They're like, oh, yeah, yeah, national Historic site. 580 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:47,320 Speaker 2: So yeah, you just assume they're lost. 581 00:33:48,240 --> 00:33:51,400 Speaker 1: But the uh, that's the place that I always recommend 582 00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:53,040 Speaker 1: when you know stuff, you should know. People right in 583 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:55,720 Speaker 1: or saying they're coming to Atlanta, that's again like. 584 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:56,560 Speaker 3: What what should they do? 585 00:33:56,600 --> 00:33:58,440 Speaker 1: I'm like, well, the Carter Center and the King Center 586 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:00,800 Speaker 1: are both very close to each other, and that's just 587 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:04,040 Speaker 1: a really great afternoon to go in there. And there's 588 00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:08,319 Speaker 1: a lot of really cool displays, including a very sort 589 00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:10,080 Speaker 1: I think I've talked about it before, a very sort 590 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:13,759 Speaker 1: of chilling single thing at the King Center, which is 591 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:19,040 Speaker 1: just a lone case with the room three h six 592 00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:22,399 Speaker 1: Lorraine Motel hotel key sitting in it, with nothing else 593 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:22,839 Speaker 1: around it. 594 00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:24,360 Speaker 3: It's just sort of speaks for itself. 595 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:28,279 Speaker 2: That's better than what I always reply with. I just 596 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:31,280 Speaker 2: tell them that they should go to Applebee's. 597 00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:34,280 Speaker 1: I'm glad you got a good joke in this one. 598 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:39,600 Speaker 2: God bless you, Thank you. So his funeral, I looked 599 00:34:39,680 --> 00:34:44,520 Speaker 2: up a picture of it was his casket was carried 600 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:49,880 Speaker 2: on a cart by two mules, processing down one of 601 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:53,880 Speaker 2: the streets, probably Auburn Avenue. I didn't catch which street 602 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:58,440 Speaker 2: it was, but there were one hundred thousand people in 603 00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:01,960 Speaker 2: this procession, including people lined up on either side of 604 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:07,280 Speaker 2: the street as it passed in a procession behind his casket. 605 00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:10,880 Speaker 2: One hundred thousand people. And it's hard to get across 606 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:14,919 Speaker 2: what that looked like unless you see a photo of it. 607 00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:17,840 Speaker 2: It just keeps going back and back and back and back, 608 00:35:18,239 --> 00:35:20,759 Speaker 2: literally as far as you could see, as far as 609 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:24,960 Speaker 2: the photographer could capture, there's a stream of people filling 610 00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:29,080 Speaker 2: the road entirely following his casket and a procession. And 611 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:31,640 Speaker 2: I was hardened to see when I zoomed in that, Like, 612 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:36,680 Speaker 2: it wasn't fifty to fifty, but it wasn't completely lopsided. Yeah, 613 00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:40,239 Speaker 2: the number of white faces and black faces in the 614 00:35:40,239 --> 00:35:45,200 Speaker 2: photograph all marching together morning MLK Like, yeah, for sure 615 00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:46,400 Speaker 2: when it happened. 616 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:48,040 Speaker 1: You know, yeah, I mean especially in Atlanta, you know, 617 00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:52,960 Speaker 1: a city with a racial history as well. Yeah, Benjamin 618 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:57,920 Speaker 1: Mays delivered the eulogy. He was the president of Morehouse University, 619 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:02,359 Speaker 1: and Morehouse have their own ceremony, I believe a day 620 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:05,839 Speaker 1: later on their campus, which, by the way, Martin Luther 621 00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:09,080 Speaker 1: King Junior was a student at Morehouse at fifteen years old. 622 00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:12,960 Speaker 1: So let that sink in for a second. And May's 623 00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:18,040 Speaker 1: predicted in that eulogy that here's the quote that King 624 00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:20,719 Speaker 1: would probably say that if death had to come, I'm 625 00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:23,000 Speaker 1: sure there was no greater cause to die than to 626 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:24,640 Speaker 1: get a just wage. 627 00:36:24,239 --> 00:36:25,520 Speaker 3: For garbage collectors. 628 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:26,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. 629 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:27,920 Speaker 3: Pretty powerful stuff. 630 00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:34,359 Speaker 2: Yeah, So the Lorain Hotel has become the National Civil 631 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:38,480 Speaker 2: Rights Museum. But after King's assassination, Walter Bailey kept it 632 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:41,719 Speaker 2: open for years, but he never rented room three oh 633 00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:44,080 Speaker 2: six again, and he didn't touch it. He left it 634 00:36:44,120 --> 00:36:48,799 Speaker 2: exactly as it was when MLK, as MLK had left 635 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:52,880 Speaker 2: it when he was assassinated. But Walter Bailey's story was 636 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:57,200 Speaker 2: additionally sad. He was very proud hotel owner to have 637 00:36:57,640 --> 00:37:01,880 Speaker 2: MLK stay every time he came in Memphis. So it 638 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:05,040 Speaker 2: was bad enough that Martin Luther King was assassinated at 639 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:08,719 Speaker 2: his hotel, but he also his wife, Laurie, who the 640 00:37:08,719 --> 00:37:12,000 Speaker 2: motel was named after. She had a stroke in all 641 00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:15,840 Speaker 2: of the commotion and the horrificness of what had happened 642 00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:21,800 Speaker 2: right after MLK was assassinated, and she died five days later. Yeah, 643 00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:26,600 Speaker 2: And so over the years, I'm sure after Walter Bailey passed, 644 00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:29,360 Speaker 2: the motel started to fall into disrepair, and it finally 645 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:32,440 Speaker 2: closed in nineteen eighty eight, but it was purchased and 646 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:36,160 Speaker 2: refurbished and preserved and turned into the National Civil Rights Museum. 647 00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:38,279 Speaker 2: Like I said, which is I've not been there, but 648 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:41,799 Speaker 2: it looks like a world class museum, and it looks 649 00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:46,040 Speaker 2: amazing and they've preserved Room three h six just as 650 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:47,160 Speaker 2: King left it as well. 651 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:51,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, it is a great museum. I can highly recommend 652 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:54,399 Speaker 1: Memphis as a whole for a weekend trip. I've spoken before. 653 00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:57,360 Speaker 1: That's where my mom's family is from and grew up 654 00:37:57,400 --> 00:37:59,439 Speaker 1: going to Memphis and went back a couple of years 655 00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:02,840 Speaker 1: ago with Ruby, and it's just a great weekend you 656 00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:04,800 Speaker 1: can go see that you can go to. You know, 657 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:07,960 Speaker 1: there's obviously all the Graceland and Sun Records and Stax 658 00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:11,440 Speaker 1: records and Beale Street. It's just you can easily find 659 00:38:12,040 --> 00:38:16,520 Speaker 1: like three days of great fun stuff to do in Memphis. 660 00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:20,000 Speaker 2: Very nice. Yeah, Memphis where it's at. 661 00:38:20,239 --> 00:38:22,520 Speaker 3: That's right. So that's it for part one. 662 00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:25,040 Speaker 1: I guess we're going to skip listener mail, as we 663 00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:27,160 Speaker 1: traditionally do on our two. 664 00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:30,200 Speaker 2: Partners, right, yeah, I figured we would, so. 665 00:38:30,239 --> 00:38:33,439 Speaker 1: Maybe just the traditional sign off that's you, right, Yeah, yeah, yeah, 666 00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:34,200 Speaker 1: I don't do that, do I? 667 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:37,200 Speaker 2: No, you don't. Even though we're not going to read 668 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:39,000 Speaker 2: listener mail. If you want to send us a listener 669 00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:41,520 Speaker 2: mail in the future, you can send it off to 670 00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:47,919 Speaker 2: Stuff Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 671 00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:50,960 Speaker 3: Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For 672 00:38:51,040 --> 00:38:55,239 Speaker 3: more podcasts My heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, 673 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:57,200 Speaker 3: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.