On a quiet evening in Tennessee’s Memphis – history paused, unaware of what the next day holds.
Captured on April 3, 1968 – the black and white photograph shows Martin Luther King Jr. standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Standing second from the right, he is surrounded by fellow civil rights leaders—Hosea Williams on one side, and Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy beside him—capturing a moment of quiet camaraderie on the eve of a historic tragedy.
The story behind the image
Taken just a day before Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination at approximately the same place in Memphis – the image is both ordinary and deeply profound.
He was fatally shot on April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Martin Luther King Jr. was 39-years-old.
His killing was one of four major assassinations that shook the United States in the 1960s. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination came after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 and Malcolm
A photo that lived on
As Black History Month is observed, this photograph serves as a powerful reminder of the people behind the American Civil Rights Movement—their courage and the weight of the cause they carried. The image froze one of the final moments of a man whose dream would outlive him, echoing across generations.
On the fatal day in 1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. was in Memphis to support striking sanitation workers. That time, sanitation workers of Memphis—most of whom were African American, received a paltry wage of about $1.00 per hour.
In its stillness, the image speaks loudly of the efforts of the social activist who spearheaded the American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s — history is not just made in grand speeches.
King’s assassination incited widespread unrest across the US, with over 100 cities experiencing riots, looting, and violence. The unrest led to numerous arrests, injuries, and deaths, laying bare the deep-seated racial tensions and despair felt in the wake of King’s death.
The man behind the lens
The historic image was taken by Charles Kelly, who was a photographer with the Associated Press. He was based in Atlanta and known for covering the Civil Rights movement, Vietnam War POW families, sports, and politics over his career – which spanned over 30 years. He passed away in 2016.
