27. King, “Showdown for Non-Violence,” 24.
28. “Re Washington Spring Project,” FBI memo from Moore to Jackson, Mississippi, office, March 11, 1968, HSCA, vol. 6, 27–29, 30.
29. Beifuss, At the River I Stand, 380.
30. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, 438.
CHAPTER 20: RAY’S LUCKY BREAKS
King, My Life with Martin Luther King, 227.
1. James Earl Ray, interviewed by Dan Rather, CBS Special Reports, March 9, 1977, HSCA, vol. 1, 209.
2. Frank, An American Death, 59.
3. Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the US House of Representatives, JFK Assassination Records, Findings in the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., National Archives, Washington, DC, 299.
4. McMillan, Making of an Assassin, 301.
5. Michael Finger, “31 Hours, 28 Minutes: A Timeline of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Last Hours in Memphis,” Memphis, April 2008, 53.
6. Opening statement by Shelby County district attorney Philip Canale, State of Tennessee v. James Earl Ray, Criminal Court of Shelby County, National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, 2.
7. Charles Stephens’s affidavit, exhibit in Tennessee v. Ray, 2, National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis.
8. Department of Justice task force report, National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, 49.
9. Canale opening statement, National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, 2.
CHAPTER 21: DARK NIGHT
Martin Luther King Jr., transcript of speech in Waycross, Georgia, 1.
1. Young interview.
2. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, 440.
3. Jesse Jackson, interviewed online by Jeff McAdory, Commercial Appeal, April 4, 2013.
4. Frank, An American Death, 154.
5. Autopsy report by J. T. Francisco, M.D., Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Tennessee Department of Public Health, Memphis, April 11, 1968, 1, http://www.autopsyfiles.org/reports/Celebs/king%20jr,%20martin%20luther_report.pdf.
6. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, 440.
7. Young, Easy Burden, 464.
8. Beifuss, At the River I Stand, 383.
9. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, 440–41.
10. Ibid., 442.
11. Attachment to findings in “United States Department of Justice Investigation of Recent Allegations Regarding the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” June 2000, regarding alleged involvement of Memphis police officers, Harold Weisberg Archive, http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg%20Subject%20Index%20Files/F%20Disk/FBI/FBI%20Office%20of%20Professional%20Responsibility%20Conclusions%20King/Item%2004.pdf, 37–42. See “List of Attachments,” US Department of Justice, https://www.justice.gov/crt/list-attachments-0.
12. Young, Easy Burden, 465.
13. Jaynes note to author.
14. Young and Sehgal, Walk in My Shoes, 23.
15. King, My Life with Martin Luther King, 314.
CHAPTER 22: REDEMPTION
Paul Weeks, “Dr. King Under Heavy Guard on Arrival Here,” Los Angeles Times, February 25, 1965.
1. Abernathy, HSCA testimony, vol. 1, 22.
2. Branch, Parting the Waters, 58–61.
3. Oates, Let the Trumpet Sound, 48.
4. Young, Walk in My Shoes, 23.
5. Maxine Smith interview.
6. Branch, Parting the Waters, 59–60.
7. Carson, Martin’s Dream, 206.
8. King, Stride Toward Freedom, 94.
9. Ibid., 92.
10. Carson, Martin’s Dream, 180.
11. Fairclough, To Redeem the Soul of America, 26.
12. King, Stride Toward Freedom, 34–35.
13. King, My Life with Martin Luther King, 151.
14. Martin Luther King Jr., “Suffering and Faith,” Christian Century, 1960, 182–83.
15. Martin Luther King Jr., “Speech Accepting the Nobel Peace Prize,” in Washington, Testament of Hope, 226.
16. Lischer, Preacher King, 192.
17. King, Why We Can’t Wait, 128–29.
18. King, “Showdown for Non-Violence,” 26.
19. Fairclough, To Redeem the Soul of America, 364.
20. Young interview.
21. Martin Luther King Jr., “Salute to Freedom,” speech to Local 1199 of National Health Care Workers’ Union, New York City, March 10, 1968, in The Radical King, ed. Cornel West (Boston: Beacon Press, 2015), 240.
22. King, “Drum Major Instinct,” 259–67.
23. Washington, Testament of Hope, 267.
EPILOGUE
1. Frank C. Holloman, “Civil Disorders—Where To Now?,” speech to the 14th Annual Seminar, American Society for Industrial Security, Fort Worth, Texas, September 11, 1968, Holloman Collection, 6.
– Acknowledgments –
MUCH OF THIS BOOK’S ORIGINALITY is owing to a series of interviews that I conducted with people who were close associates of Martin Luther King Jr. in March and April of 1968 or who were immersed in the events that brought him to Memphis at that time. I am indebted to them for having shared their recollections with me.
To document events that occurred five decades ago, I relied on extensive archival research. Particularly helpful in guiding me through the maze of relevant archives were Sara Cantrell of the National Civil Rights Museum, Ed Frank of the Ned R. McWherter Library at the University of Memphis, and Laurel Davis of the Boston College Law Library. I thank them, as well as Kira Jones, who researched the William Rutherford papers in the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library at Emory University. I benefited, moreover, from access to records at the Memphis Public Library and Information Center, Shelby County Courthouse, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Newton (Massachusetts) Free Library, and US National Archives and Records Administration.
I am beholden to the Atlanta University Center for having awarded me a travel grant to research the King Collection at its Robert W. Woodruff Library. I thank the Intellectual Properties Management, Inc., for permission to copy documents at the Woodruff Library. I am grateful to Ryan Jones, whose commentary during a tour of the National Civil Rights Museum deepened my understanding of what happened at the Lorraine Motel in April 1968. Vince Hughes, Ron Borod, and Wayne Dowdy kindly briefed me about events and context related to their city of Memphis. Friends Martha and Jerrold Graber shared their knowledge of Memphis and housed and fed me during several visits to the city. Philip and Ellen Rosenbloom graciously offered their hospitality in Louisville.
For legal help and insights into the publishing world, I was fortunate to have lawyers Rob Bertsche, Lloyd Constantine, and Bruce Kramer and book editor Barbara Grossman. For leads to literary agents or assistance with photos, I heartily thank Sarah and Josh Lamstein, Corby Kummer, Michael Useem, Lee Van Kirk, and Peter Cowen.
Colleagues and friends generously read early drafts and penned comments that helped shape the book. For that invaluable feedback at a critical stage in the book’s gestation, I warmly thank Sue Bass, Mark Brodin, Frank Levy, David Whitford, Jim Wexler, and Seth and Alexa Rosenbloom. I owe a large debt of gratitude to the labor historian Michael Honey, who astutely critiqued a later draft.
My agent, William Clark, has been an indispensable ally at every stage of
