Remembering Dr. King

April 4, 2008 - On this day 40 years ago, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was felled by an assassin’s bullet on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was there to march with sanitation workers demanding a better wage. Harry Belafonte, actor/activist shared a story once of how Mrs. Coretta Scott King, upon learning of the assassination, called only Mr. Belafonte into her room and quietly asked him to help lay out the clothes Dr. King would wear. It was a very intimate moment during which she shared her concern for the country and what could result from this horrific event. She softly admitted that she was not sure of what she should do. Mr. Belafonte respectfully reminded her of why Dr. King had gone to Memphis and how the people would be waiting for some direction. Mrs. King courageously decided that she would lead the sanitation workers march in her husband’s stead.

Today, 21st Century Democrats salutes the life of Dr. Martin Luther King who paid the ultimate price and to Mrs. Coretta Scott King for continuing the fight for the progressive ideals that form the core of our mission. 21st Century Democrats pledges to never relent in our charge to elect progressive populist Democrats who will stand up for America’s working families and to be leaders on Capitol Hill, State Legislatures, counties, and cities across the country.


Dr. King speaks at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom - August 28, 1963