Racial Controversy Surrounding the Assassination of Martin Luther King,

The Racial Controversy Surrounding the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. today is no doubt revered. He is commonly called the â€Å"Father of Civil Rights,† and is looked upon as a national icon, in an almost presidential-type light. His achievements have not only begat a national holiday for his birthday, but also helped lead to the creation of Black History Month. However, his accomplishments were not so regaled in his own time. In fact, most Caucasian Americans refused to even recognize any ban or barrier he and his cohorts attempted to change. African-Americans were just simply not respected by most whites in the 1950s and 1960s because they were considered â€Å"inferior.† This resonates with Baldwin’s opinions of whites’ refusals to accept that they may have made a mistake, and instead of taking responsibility for that mistake, they dump it on African-Americans and other races. A good example of this â€Å"dumping† of responsibilities occurred with the assass ination of King. It may be a possibility that the many different conspiracy theories that evolved after King’s assassination were created in a way to avoid Caucasians admitting that a single white person shot and killed the head of the Civil Rights Movement. Along with the many different conspiracy theories, there has been an uncovering of faults in the FBI’s investigation, some of which include not taking African-Americans’ eyewitness testimony seriously. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s first step into the world of civil rights occurred in Montgomery, Alabama, in December of 1951. After she refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger, Rosa Parks was arrested for violating the city’s segregation ... ... Luther King, Jr.: Conspiracy Theory #4†. Infoplease. 8 Apr. 2004 . Frank, Gerold. An American Death: The True Story of the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Greatest Manhunt of Our Time. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1972. â€Å"King Report—Part 2†. U.S. Department of Justice. 8 Apr. 2004 . "Martin Luther King, Jr.". Encyclopedia Britannica. 2004. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 8 Apr. 2004. Library Gateway, Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. . Ripley, Anthony. â€Å"Funeral Is Ignored by Whites But Some Atlanta Stores Close.† New York Times 9 Apr. 1968: 1-2. ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times. Library Gateway, Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. 11 Apr. 2004 .