Fifty-four years ago on April 4, a bullet raged through a Memphis sky and took the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. when it landed.
On Monday afternoon, the King family continued their solemn annual tradition of placing a wreath on King’s crypt in Atlanta.
“Fifty-four years ago today. One week after my 5th birthday. You were gone,” King’s youngest daughter, Bernice King, wrote on Twitter. “Assassinated for answering a call to conscience, for speaking truth to power, for being a drum major for justice who sought to rid the world of racism, militarism and poverty. I miss you. Still. Always.”
The King Family Wreath Laying Ceremony and Community Service Project at the King Center in Atlanta was part of a daylong observance of King’s assassination. Members of the King family, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and additional guests were in attendance.
Earlier Monday, the King Center held a voter education and registration drive, followed by virtual nonviolence training and the delivery of care packages to the homeless.
Later, Cornel West was scheduled to headline a virtual broadcast on the “beloved community.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Unapologetically ATL is also marking the 54th anniversary of King’s murder by relaunching our podcast series, “The Voices of King.”
In 2008, on the 40th anniversary of King’s death, Earl Caldwell was one of 13 people whom the AJC sat down with to record their stories.
Last Thursday the AJC kicked off the podcast’s relaunch with the interview featuring Caldwell, a former New York Times reporter, and the only journalist to witness King’s assassination in Memphis.
Each Thursday, the AJC will re-release another interview from the 13-part podcast hosted by multimedia journalist Ryon Horne.
This Thursday, in Episode 2, the late Juanita Abernathy talks about the unbreakable bond her husband, the Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, held with King. She shares stories about how the Kings and the Abernathys met, raising children in the civil rights movement, and the constant danger they faced while trying to change the world.
The podcast’s interviews also include Andrew Young, Tyrone Brooks, Christine King Farris, Martin Luther King III, Xernona Clayton and Bernice King. And those who are no longer living — the Rev. Joseph Lowery, Ralph David Abernathy III, Rep. John Lewis, the Rev. Samuel Billy Kyles, Kathryn Johnson. Each gives a glimpse, through their relationships with King, inside the making of history.
Each episode will be made available through the Unapologetically ATL newsletter, but you can also subscribe to “The Voices of King” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.
About the Author
