Tomorrow marks the fortieth anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King and a lot is certainly being written about it. One of the best and most gripping things I've read on the subject is this timeline of King's final hours from Memphis Magazine. It's filled with the mundane ("12 noon — King and Abernathy enjoy a catfish lunch at the Lorraine Motel's grill") and the magnificent:
10:30 p.m. — King concludes his speech with, "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!" and takes a seat, his eyes wet with tears. Honey writes, "Pandemonium swept Mason Temple as people came to their feet — applauding, cheering, yelling, crying." Another minister observes, "When he sat down, he was just crying. He sure was." Preachers sometimes cried, but he had never seen King do it. "This time it seemed like he was just saying, 'Goodbye, I hate to leave.'"
It's definitely worth a read.
--Jason Zengerle