Wednesday marked 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Crowds gathered around the country to mark the date and honor his memory. Here are some scenes from the gatherings, as well as the days leading up to April 4, 2018.
WASHINGTON — Wednesday marked 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was struck down by a sniper’s bullet outside a hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee.
Crowds gathered around the country to mark the date and honor his memory. Here are some scenes from the days leading up to April, 4, 2018.
A security guard stands by the grave of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., on the 50th anniversary of his assassination in Atlanta, Wednesday, April 4, 2018.
(AP Photo/David Goldman)
AP Photo/David Goldman
A flag bearing the image of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., waves in the wind at his gravesite on the 50th anniversary of his assassination in Atlanta, Wednesday, April 4, 2018.
(AP Photo/David Goldman)
AP Photo/David Goldman
Dwania Kyles hands out signs resembling the signs carried by striking sanitation workers in 1968 as people gather for an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on Wednesday, April 4, 2018, in Memphis, Tenn. King was assassinated April 4, 1968, while in Memphis supporting striking sanitation workers.
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
People hold signs resembling the signs carried by striking sanitation workers in 1968 as they join in events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on Wednesday, April 4, 2018, in Memphis, Tenn. King was assassinated April 4, 1968, while in Memphis supporting striking sanitation workers.
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., takes part in a march commemorating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Wednesday, April 4, 2018, in Memphis, Tenn. King was assassinated April 4, 1968, while in Memphis supporting striking sanitation workers.
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
Rapper and actor Common performs at a rally commemorating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Wednesday, April 4, 2018, in Memphis, Tenn. King was assassinated April 4, 1968, while in Memphis supporting striking sanitation workers.
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
Five men who took part in the Memphis sanitation workers strike in 1968 wait for a ceremony to begin at the Mason Temple of the Church of God in Christ Tuesday, April 3, 2018, in Memphis, Tenn. From left are Cleophus Smith, Ozell Eual, Elmore Nickleberry, Baxter Richard Leach, and Rev. Leslie R. Moore. The church is where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final speech, which contained the phrase, “I’ve been to the mountaintop,” on April 3, 1968, the night before he was assassinated. King was in Memphis to support the striking workers.
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
Martin Luther King III speaks at the Mason Temple of the Church of God in Christ, Tuesday, April 3, 2018, in Memphis, Tenn. The church is where his father, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., delivered his final speech, which contained the phrase, “I’ve been to the mountaintop,” on April 3, 1968, the night before he was assassinated.
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
Martin Luther King III hugs his sister, the Rev. Bernice King, after she spoke at the Mason Temple of the Church of God in Christ in Memphis, Tenn., Tuesday, April 3, 2018. The church is where their father, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., delivered his final speech on April 3, 1968, the night before he was assassinated.
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
The Rev. Bernice King speaks at the Mason Temple of the Church of God in Christ as her brother, Martin Luther King III, listens Tuesday, April 3, 2018, in Memphis, Tenn. The church is where their father, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., delivered his final speech, which contained the phrase, “I’ve been to the mountaintop,” on April 3, 1968, the night before he was assassinated.
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
A man walks past a large mural of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the side of a diner, painted by artist James Crespinel in the 1990’s and later restored, along Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tuesday, April 3, 2018, in Seattle. The civil rights leader was killed 50 years ago Wednesday in Memphis. Seattle events commemorating his assassination will be held Wednesday evening at Mt. Zion Baptist Church.
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, second from left, and the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, left, co-chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign, speak at the National Civil Rights Museum on Tuesday, April 3, 2018, in Memphis, Tenn. They announced the campaign is preparing for 40 days of non-violent “direct action” in about 30 states that will climax with a rally in Washington this June. The organization is the rekindling of the campaign to help poor people that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was working on when he was killed April 4, 1968, in Memphis.
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh addresses a crowd, Monday, April 2, 2018, at the start of a remembrance on City Hall Plaza, in Boston, for Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated 50 years ago this week. Dozens of speakers aged 5 to 91 took turns reading short passages from King’s last speech during the remembrance. King originally delivered the speech in Memphis, Tennessee, on the eve of his April 4, 1968, death.
(AP Photo/Steven Senne)
AP Photo/Steven Senne
Nation of Islam Minister Rodney Muhammad reads a short passage from Martin Luther King Jr.’s last speech before King’s assassination 50 years ago this week during a remembrance Monday, April 2, 2018, on City Hall Plaza, in Boston. King originally delivered the speech in Memphis, Tennessee, on the eve of his April 4, 1968, death.
(AP Photo/Steven Senne)
AP Photo/Steven Senne
Rev. Bernice King, daughter of the late civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., speaks at the National Civil Rights Museum, Monday, April 2, 2018, in Memphis, Tenn. The museum was formerly the Lorraine Motel, where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated April 4, 1968.
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
