Summary

Exploring the last years of the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Story

Before he was struck down by an assassin’s bullet, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had seen his image, his goals and his philosophy of non-violence attacked from all sides of the political spectrum. On the week that we remember the 50th Anniversary of his death, King County will hold a special forum to discuss the last two years of King’s life—when his work brought together the issues of racial equality, economic justice and internationalism:

The forum will be led by Bill Fletcher, author and former president of the human rights organization TransAfrica Forum. Fletcher is now a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies, an editorial board member of BlackCommentator.com and is currently working on a racial justice educational project with the Washington State Labor Council targeted at union members.

The focus of the forum is an examination of the last years of Dr. King’s life and an exploration beyond the myth that has grown around his life. Who was the Martin Luther King, Jr. that was in Memphis when James Earl Ray took his life on April 4, 1968? How did the work he was doing and the actions that came from that work transform King from one of the most acclaimed men in America to one of the most controversial?  

The forum is co-sponsored by the King County Council’s Equity and Social Justice (ESJ) Legislative Branch Committee and the office of Metropolitan King County Councilmember Larry Gossett.