How Martin Luther King Jr.’s courage challenges us today

Fifty years ago today, at 6:01 p.m. EST, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot. He was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m.

Redemption: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Last 31 Hours is a riveting narrative of the events that led to Dr. King’s tragic death. Written by veteran journalist Joseph Rosenbloom, the book chronicles the last thirty-one hours and twenty-eight minutes of Dr. King’s life.

Rosenbloom explains why the great civil rights leader was in Memphis and paints an extraordinary picture of his commitment and courage.

Why he came to Memphis

In 1968, Dr. King was working to mobilize what he called the “Poor People’s Campaign” in Washington, DC. His goal was to gather thousands of impoverished people of all races from all across the country. They would stage protests at our nation’s capital until lawmakers enacted reforms to eradicate poverty in this country.

In the midst of this massive effort, he was asked to divert his attention to Memphis to support a garbage collectors’ strike that had been ongoing in that city for weeks. Dr. King felt he owed these men and their families his support, so he and his leadership team made their way to join them.

Of course, he could not have known that an escaped felon named James Earl Ray was seeking to murder him. Ray had been discharged from the Army, but not before he acquired basic proficiency with a rifle. After escaping from prison, he followed a circuitous route that brought him to Memphis.

There he learned through television and newspaper reports that Dr. King was staying at the Lorraine Motel in room 306, his usual lodging when in the city. Ray rented a room in a run-down building across the street.

Dr. King and his group were planning a dinner that night at a supporter’s home. He walked from his room onto the hotel balcony and was talking with his friends in the parking lot below when Ray fired the bullet that killed him.

“I’ll never live to be forty”

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