Assassinations of Civil Rights Era

    The Civil Rights Era was full of influential people who were so devoted to making a change in their society. I am very grateful to say that there were people who were fearless enough to stand up for what they believed in no matter how much violence and anger was pushed against them.

     The worst part of it all is that their time will eventually come to an end, but what they leave behind is something truly remarkable. I will talk of the assassinations of the inspirations, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Malcolm X, who all left a legacy bigger than they could have imagined.

    Martin Luther King Jr went to Tennessee on the 3rd of April, 1968 with plans of helping sanitation workers in Memphis fight against the mistreatment of the black workers that following Monday. April 4th, as he was about to leave his motel to have dinner with Samuel Kyles, he decided to go talk to some members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who were down in the parking lot. He steps out onto the balcony, of his room, and a shot is fired. This one shot hits King in his face and he falls to the ground. Nearby people rush him to the hospital, but he is declared dead an hour later. This day was a day of mourning for people all over America, as declared by President Lyndon B. Johnson. A police investigation led to the 99 years sentence of James Earl Ray in 1969. A lot of conspiracy arose around this case for Ray tried to say he was framed, and their was thoughts of a possible government interference. In the end Ray, died in jail on April 23rd, 1998, so the case was not ever 100% confirmed.

    King's death sparked numerous deaths, and led to a lot of property destruction, but most importantly it lit a fire in the butt of those who fought so hard alongside King. His time may have been done but this was just the beginning of his journey as a civil rights activist. He was such an inspiration to those to keep fighting for equality and to keep having a dream.

    President John F. Kennedy was riding around Texas to campaign for his second run for presidency. He started in San Antonio, continued to Fort Worth, and ended in Dallas. The president, his wife, and Governor Connally were all packed into a motorcade headed to the Trade Mart, which was where the president was supposed to give a speech at. The open top car turns into the Dealey Plaza and, suddenly, shots were fired. Kennedy had been struck in several places and the governor was shot in the back. The car sped off to the hospital but sadly it was too late for the president. His killer was decided to be Lee Harvey Oswald, and as he was being taken to jail, he was shot and killed by Jack Ruby.

    There was a lot of conspiracy surrounding his death too. Firstly, since President Kennedy was against any kind of racial inequality and was even close with MLK Jr. there seemed to be a hit put out on him. Many worried that a racist person was so upset that he supported black affairs that he was shot for this very reason. Another theory was that Oswald had an accomplice with him, who stood on top of a nearby hill. In the end, Kennedy's outspokenness to protect African Americans was quite impactful, for many white males would never dare do such a thing during this time.

    Lastly we have the assassination of Malcolm X, another popular activist during the Civil Rights Era. 
Malcolm has just been through tough times, having his house bombed, and forcing his family to hide for their own safety. He was now living in a hotel in New York city, but he says that he lives "like a man who is dead already."  Malcolm checked out of his hotel room, and got ready to speak in front of the new members of his Organization of Afro-American Unity in the Audubon Ballroom. He gets on the stage, and before he can even greet the crowd, a fight breaks out. His two bodyguards focus on trying to stop the fight, and a man shoots Malcom right in the chest. He falls over, while the killer escapes. He was sent to a nearby hospital where his was pronounced dead.

    Malcolm's assassination also had lots of controversy surrounding it. The suspects were Thomas 15X Johnson, Norman 3X Butler, and Talmadge Hayer, who were all members of the Nation of Islam. The Nation of Islam did previously end on bad terms with Malcolm. These men were sent to 20 years to life in prison, but there was very little evidence to imprison them anyway. Later on, Hayer cleared the men but the judge didn't feel it  necessary to reopen the case. More research questioned why there was little security for Malcolm and why he was being tracked. Malcolm left quite a legacy that wasn't appreciated until a while alter. He led so many others to fight for their rights, because "power in the defense of freedom is greater than power in behalf of tyranny and oppression." 

    All of these gentlemen were special to creating a long lasting effect from the Civil Rights Movement. Without their hard work, many of us would not be where we are today.