'Harried and tired and worn and rushed': Photos show Martin Luther King Jr.'s final hours

Esme MazzeoJan 17, 2023, 03:31 IST

Martin Luther King Jr. giving his final speech.Getty Images

Martin Luther King, Jr. arrived in Memphis on April 3, 1968, with plans to support a sanitation workers' strike.
It was storming on that night when he gave his final speech at Mason Temple.

Martin Luther King Jr. arrived in Memphis, Tennessee on April 3 to support a local sanitation workers' strike.

A National Guardsman with a bayoneted rifle stands guard in a doorway near the corner of Beale and Hernando Streets in downtown Memphis, Tenn., as workmen continue to board up store fronts in the wake of rioting and looting in the area, March 29, 1968.AP Photo/Jack Thornell

King was not scheduled to speak on the night of April 3 at Mason Temple in Memphis, but did so because of public demand.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. stands with other civil rights leaders on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., on April 3, 1968, a day before he was assassinated at approximately the same place. From left are Hosea Williams, Jesse Jackson, King, and Ralph AbernathyAP Photo/Charles Kelly

King looked "harried and tired and worn and rushed" during his speech, but spoke with "passion."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. makes his last public appearance at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tenn., on April 3, 1968.AP Photo/Charles Kelly

King had dark themes and death on his mind during the speech.

Caught in a somber mood, Dr. Martin Luther King addressed some 2,000 people on April 3rd night on the eve of his death. The former founder and chairman of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was slain by an unknown assailant on April 4th.Getty Images

Reverend Jesse Jackson attended Dr. King's public appearance at Mason Temple.

AP Photo/Charles Kelly

King needed rest.

A news reporter stands in the room rented by the assassin who shot Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in Memphis, Tenn., April 5, 1968.AP Photo

King was headed to dinner when Ray fired a single shot that hit Dr. King.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Death Casket Mourners crowd into the tiny chapel of a Memphis funeral home on Friday, April 5, 1968, to view the body of Dr. Martin Luther King.AP Photo/Charles Kelly

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