The Wrongologist

Martin
Luther King was murdered in Memphis on April 4, 1968. We neither celebrate the day of his birth or death, so its difficult to remember the exact date of his death.

On that day 45 years
ago, the Wrongologist was tasked by our government with leading a nuclear
missile base in Germany. Our company’s racial composition was about 45%
African-American, 45% White and 10% all others principally, Hispanic. Since a missile base is a fairly
technical shop, most of the people were quite intelligent, had some college and
most were not draftees; most had been in the military for at least 5 years. It
was the Vietnam era and we were in a rural part of Germany.

When the
news of his death broke, the military brass thought that remote bases like ours
were likely to see violence, but we had none. It was grim and sullen, but not at
all violent, only painful for most of us.

This all
came to mind while watching “MLK: The Assassination Tapes”, a Smithsonian
Channel presentation. A little known fact is that all of the events of that day
were caught on film, tape and audio. They were compiled into this film produced
by Tom Jennings, who repeats the goals and methods of his earlier “The
Lost JFK Tapes: The Assassination” which ran in 2009 on the National
Geographic Channel.

While this
ground has been covered in other documentaries, there is an immediacy here. It
feels like you are part of the event, you experience those days as they
happened, probably for the first time. The film lasts only about 47 minutes; so
much had to be left out, such as the fate of the convicted killer James Earl
Ray. That doesn’t come across as a failing, however, but as focus. There are
plenty of places to go to learn more.

The film
is definitely worth watching. You don’t need to subscribe to the Smithsonian
Channel, it can be viewed here.
See it.

Most have
seen the iconic photo of Jesse Jackson and others standing on the balcony of
the Lorraine Motel, pointing in the direction of the gunfire. The motel is now
a museum dedicated to the civil rights movement. Dr. King had gone to Memphis to
support a strike by sanitation workers to achieve pay equity with white workers
and to improve working conditions. The strike started in February and had gotten
progressively violent over the period of 8 weeks.

One of
MLK’s most remarkable speeches, the “I’ve seen the promised land” speech, was
given in Memphis on April 3d, about 22 hours before he was killed. It is
reprised here with chilling effect, as you realize Dr. King clearly had a premonition of his death.

In “At Canaan’s Edge,” the last volume of
his “America in the King Years” trilogy, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor
Branch wrote that King’s last words that day were to a musician who was to play
at a meeting on the night of April 4th in Memphis: “Make sure you
play ‘Precious Lord, Take My Hand,’” King requested. “Play it real pretty.”

It was Dr.
King’s favorite song, and he often invited gospel singer Mahalia Jackson to
sing it at civil rights rallies to inspire the crowds. Here is the first verse:

Precious
Lord, take my hand
Lead me on,
Let me stand.
I’m tired, I am weak I am worn.
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light.
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home.

Interestingly, it was also sung at LBJ’s funeral by Leontyne Price in 1973.

MLK’s assassination
sparked a paroxysm of violence as riots broke out across the nation in the
aftermath of his murder. Just two months after Dr. King was killed, Bobby
Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles. Lyndon Johnson, the incumbent
president was forced from the race, despite being elected by a landslide in
1964. College campuses were seething with demonstrations. There were violent
confrontations between police and protesters at the 1968 Democratic National
Convention, a significant third-party presidential run by George Wallace and
ultimately, the election of Richard Nixon, which effectively ended the New Deal
coalition that had dominated domestic politics for 35 years.

A year to
the day before he was murdered, Dr. King spoke out against the Vietnam War at
Riverside Church in New York City. Though some liberals had warned him that
protesting the war could dilute the civil rights movement, Dr. King saw the
link between a struggle for freedom at home and our long, costly war overseas.

He called
the US government “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.” He urged
citizens to “move past indecision to action” and warned his fellow Americans:

45 years after
his death, the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. remain valid.

Once again
we need to act.

The
challenges are different, but the message still resonates.