| Dr Martin Luther King Jr A Celebration Of His LIfe | | | | surveillance on him. Dr. King became so important |
| Martin Luther King Jr. rose to national fame in | | | | to them he had his own FBI task force. |
| December 1955 when he joined the efforts of | | | | Everywhere he went the FBI palace wire taps on |
| The Montgomery Alabama Bus Boycott. Rosa | | | | his phones and bugged the rooms he was in. |
| Parks, a black women refused to give up her | | | | Eventually with no cause or evidence the FBI |
| buss seat to a white man. Dr King joined the | | | | classified him a threat with ties to communism, |
| cause and organized marches and sit ins. It took | | | | and started a campaign of harassment with |
| almost a year for the boycott to end with | | | | several unsuccessful attempts to discredit him. |
| success. A Supreme Court ruling declared the | | | | The FBI used several harassment methods such |
| segregation laws Montgomery Alabama | | | | as sending him threatening letters and releasing |
| unconstitutional. The boycott was the catalysts | | | | false or sensitive information to the press. They |
| that started the modern civil rights movement in | | | | also sent agents to meet with important people |
| the USA, and elevated Dr. King as the | | | | that Dr. King was supposed to meet with to try |
| movements leader. Dr. King became a Baptist | | | | to spread lies about him. Dr Kings final mission |
| preacher following in the footsteps of his father | | | | before his brutal assassination was to aid the |
| and grandfather. He together with his wife | | | | Memphis Tennessee Sanitation Workers (local 173) |
| Coretta Scott King reared four children. Dr King | | | | strike. He joined with the Sanitation Workers, the |
| led the founding of The Southern Christian | | | | Memphis Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance and |
| Leadership Conference (SCLC). The SCLC is | | | | several other local black power groups in a march |
| currently a national organization with affiliate | | | | through Memphis Tennessee. High tensions and |
| chapters in almost every major US city. Dr. King's | | | | other factors caused the march to become |
| children are stil active in the SCLC. The SCLC | | | | violent Dr King left the march and returned to his |
| promotes brotherhood and sisterhood, peace, and | | | | hotel. While violence ran through the streets police |
| community and is open to people of all races, | | | | mace multiple arrests. A restraining order was |
| religions and backgrounds. The basic principals of | | | | issued banning Dr King from further marches in |
| the SCLC stem from Dr. Kings greatest ability to | | | | Memphis. On the evening of April 4, 1968 (while |
| bring together all types of people to promote the | | | | under surveillance by the Memphis Police |
| cause of peace, brotherhood, and sisterhood. Dr. | | | | Department) Dr. King was brutally gunned down |
| Kings life was filled with highs and lows. In 1964 he | | | | while standing on the balcony of his hotel. The |
| was the youngest recipient of The Nobel Peace | | | | assassination investigation was conducted by the |
| Prize. He authored several books, and delivered | | | | FBI. I believe that this was a poor choice of |
| hundreds of speeches all over the country. | | | | agencies because of the negative history |
| Non-violent civil disobedience is the primary tactic | | | | between the FBI and Dr. King. In no way could |
| to overcome the enemy of oppression. Dr King | | | | the FBI be able to conduct an impartial |
| was not the first to use these methods , he | | | | investigation. I am also forced to ask myself with |
| learned these principals from another famous man | | | | all to the harassment, rumor spreading and |
| whom he admired greatly, Mahatma Gandi. | | | | attempts to discredit Dr. King if the FBI had an |
| Mohatma Gandi of India, developed the philosophy | | | | influence on the assignation. James Earl Ray was |
| of Satyagraha. Satyagraha is the search of the | | | | arrested and charged with the murder of Dr King. |
| truth. The three aspects are a) Satya - the truth, | | | | James Ray confessed to the crime in open court |
| b) Ahimsa - physical and mental, non violence civil | | | | and waved his rite to a trial, and was convicted. |
| disobedience, non cooperation, c) Tapasya - self | | | | The lack of a trial, no witnesses testimony, no |
| sacrifice . The goal is to acquire the cooperation | | | | evidence review no court records leads me to |
| of and opponent by changing a destructive | | | | wonder if James Ray acted alone or if he was |
| relationship to a constructive relationship. this is | | | | part of a conspiracy. Today January 15, 2007 we |
| accomplished by using a moral power (God) | | | | celebrate Dr. King his life and legacy. Dr. King |
| instead of a physical power (violence). | | | | preacher of peace and equality, should best be |
| Controversy enveloped the life of Dr. King. His | | | | remembered for his message of brotherhood and |
| practice of civil disobedience lead to several | | | | sisterhood "I have a dream that my four little |
| arrests. His status as the leader of the civil rights | | | | children will one day live in a nation where they will |
| movement attracted the attention of president | | | | not be judged by the color of their skin but by |
| Kennedy who directed the FBI to start | | | | the content of their character. |