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Memphis, TN –Over the weekend, as the world took time out to celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. Monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., I also found my way to Memphis.  While there I was able to stop by the Lorraine Hotel where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was hit with a fatal bullet.  In the photo above the reef represents the location where Dr. King was standing when he was hit with that fatal bullet.  The cars, donated by Bank of America, represent the cars that were parked in that location of the time of the shooting.

Also along the way, I met up with several people who lived in Memphis during the time of Dr. King’s assassination.  Their stories were sad, heartfelt and depressing.  One white woman I met up with said, “Why did they have to pick our city to do this. I was and so many others were ashamed.  When I looked back, without a doubt I can say it was well organized and that government, city officials and those in Washington knew exactly what was going to happen that night!”

One cab driver I spoke with said, “Dr. King was suppose to stay in the Peabody Hotel but at the last minute his hotel reservation was changed. All of the Black police officers and firemen were sent home that night.  It was an evil feeling and we could all feel that something wasn’t right and was about to happen.”  

Another man I spoke with said, “James Earl Ray didn’t kill Dr. King. He was too stupid to know what to do.  But after it happened and the news started to come out, we all knew that James Earl Ray didn’t kill Dr. King”   He continued, “After the shooting, they put curfews in place for fear of rioting.  Anger doesn’t even come close to express how we felt.”