Commemoration Ceremonies of the 50th Anniversary of MLK’s Death Attracts Thousands

By Clint Confehr

MEMPHIS, TN — By the end of Wednesday, MLK50 officials anticipate 10s of thousands of people in Memphis for the commemoration of Martin Luther King’s assassination.

• Carrying that message daily is the National Civil Rights Museum in the Lorraine Motel where King was slain by James Earl Ray, a sniper who shot ftom a bathroom across Mulberry Street.

Federal laws including the voting rights acts of 1963-65 — gutted the Supreme Court a few years ago — led to the election of black mayors and lawmakers. It’s a legacy of Dr. King that’s threatened today as speakers here chant “Up the Vote.”