DESERET NEWS: MEMPHIS, TENN. (AP) -- The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. triggered Negro violence across the nation and caused President Johnson to cancel his planned trip to Hawaii.
The 39-year-old Dr. King died in a Memphis hospital Thursday night less than an hour after he was shot in the neck as he stood on the balcony of his motel here. Police searched for a white gunman.President Johnson called on the nation today -- all men and all races -- to "stand their ground to deny violence its victory" in the wake of the slaying of Dr. King . . .
The "I Have a Dream" leader of America's civil rights movement was dead at the hands of assassin James Earl Ray. King's advocacy for non-violent protest could not save him from the violence that marked the mid-1960s. A Baptist minister, he was an eloquent speaker who used his skills to sway both blacks and whites to peacefully pursue equity. His birthday became a national holiday in memory of his profound effect on the country.