April 4, 1968 – MLK’s Assassination and the DC Riots
Today is the 40th anniversary of the assassination of civil rights leader, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, who was shot dead in Memphis by James Earl Ray.
Within hours of his murder, Washington, DC was poised for one of the most explosive urban riots in American history.
The Washington, DC headquarters of Dr. King’s Southern Christian Leadership Council was located near the intersection of 14th and U Street. Large crowds of young people were typical in the neighborhood, especially as people headed home from work, as the area was a center of the African-American community in Washington, DC.
Just two …read more
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