Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1929-1968
On the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death, it is worth noting how his message and his priorities had evolved by the time he was shot on that balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis in 1968. Dr. King was confronting many challenges that remain with us today.
He was battling racism in the North then, not just in the South. He was pushing the government to address poverty, income inequality, structural racism and segregation in cities like Boston and Chicago. He was also calling for an end to a war that was draining the national treasury of funds needed to finance a progressive domestic agenda.
This may not be the Dr. King that many remember. Yet, his words resonate powerfully – and, perhaps, uncomfortably – today in a country that remains deeply divided on issues of race and class.
Read more in the NY Times series:
- 50 years later, remembering Dr. King, and the battles that outlived him
- 50 years after Dr. King’s death, remembering the women who steered the movement
- Dr. King said segregation harms us all. Environmental research shows he was right.
- https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000005803216/how-dr-king-changed-sanitation-workers-life.html