April, 1968 – King Assassination
| In the midst of organizing, King detours to support striking sanitation workers in Memphis, where he is assassinated on April 4, 1968. Riots erupt around the country as people mourn the loss. The SCLC presses forward with the Poor People’s Campaign just weeks later, settling people on the National Mall in an encampment they call “Resurrection City.” Jesse Jackson leads protesters in direct actions around the city, and in chants of “I am somebody.” However, the protest fails after heavy rains and unclear agendas bog down the participants. In the midst of their efforts, word comes that presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, a champion of civil rights, has been assassinated in California. In recognition of the poor people’s protest, the hearse bearing Kennedy’s body is brought through the encampment in Washington. |
Brown v. Board of Education | Emmett Till’s Murder | The Montgomery Bus Boycott | Desegregating Southern Schools | Sit Ins | The Freedom Rides
Project “C” in Birmingham | The March on Washington | Freedom Summer | The Civil Rights Act | March from Selma to Montgomery
Malcolm X and the Rise of Black Power | The Voting Rights Act | Poor People’s Campaign | King Assassination
Project “C” in Birmingham | The March on Washington | Freedom Summer | The Civil Rights Act | March from Selma to Montgomery
Malcolm X and the Rise of Black Power | The Voting Rights Act | Poor People’s Campaign | King Assassination
Much of this text is excerpted, with permission, from the website for the American Experience series Eyes on the Prize. Read more about these events and others on that site.
