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Martin Luther King, Jr., Biography1929—1968, American clergyman and civil rights leader
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., graduated from King organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which gave him a base to pursue further civil-rights King's leadership in the civil-rights movement was challenged in the mid-1960s as others grew more militant. His interests, however, widened from civil rights to include criticism of the Vietnam War and a deeper concern over poverty. His plans for a Poor People's March to Washington were interrupted (1968) for a trip to Memphis, Tenn., in support of striking sanitation workers. On Apr. 4, 1968, he was shot and killed as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel (since 1991 a civil-rights museum). James Earl Ray, a career criminal, pleaded guilty to the murder and was convicted, but he soon recanted, claiming he was duped into his plea. Ray's conviction was subsequently upheld, but he eventually received support from members of King's family, who believed King to have been the victim of a conspiracy. Ray died in prison in 1998. In a jury trial in Memphis in 1999 the King family won a wrongful-death judgment against Loyd Jowers, who claimed (1993) that he had arranged the killing for a Mafia figure. Many experts, however, were unconvinced by the verdict, and in 2000, after an 18-month investigation, the Justice Dept. discredited Jowers and concluded that there was no evidence of an assassination plot. King wrote Stride toward Freedom (1958), Why We Can't Wait (1964), and Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967). His birthday is a national holiday, celebrated on the third Monday in January. King's wife, Coretta Scott King, has carried on various aspects of his work. She also wrote My Life with Martin Luther King (1989). See biographies by K. L. Smith and I. G. Zepp, Jr. (1974), S. Oates (1982), and M. Frady (2001); C. S. King, My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. (1969); D. J. Garrow, Bearing the Cross (1986); T. Branch, Parting the Waters (1988) and Pillar of Fire (1997); M. E. Dyson, I May Not Get There with You (2000). The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright ©2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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