National

The City Where King Was Killed Marks MLK Day

Monday, January 16, 2017 1:06 pm | 2 Minute Read

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. (AP Photo, File)

Residents of Memphis, Tennessee — the city where civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed — are honoring his legacy with neighborhood events and a daylong celebration at the National Civil Rights Museum.

Volunteers on Monday fanned out across Memphis neighborhoods where blight is a major problem to take part in a “MLK Day of Service.” They picked up litter and trash along streets, at blighted homes, in empty lots and in parks in historic neighborhoods such as Orange Mound and Soulsville.

The sign of the former Lorraine Motel, now a part of the National Civil Rights Museum, in Memphis, Tenn. The motel is where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, while in Memphis to support striking sanitation workers. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

Visitors to the National Civil Rights Museum gathered for performances, youth-centered educational programs, a blood donation drive and a food drive.

King was killed while standing on a balcony at the old Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968. The motel has been turned into the National Civil Rights Museum.

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