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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:02,700 --> 00:00:07,760 April the 4th, 1968, Memphis, Tennessee, America's deep south. 2 00:00:08,020 --> 00:00:09,560 One minute past six. 3 00:00:11,060 --> 00:00:16,100 A man is standing on the balcony of his motel room, when suddenly, a shot rings 4 00:00:16,100 --> 00:00:17,100 out. 5 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:23,300 One of the world's most outspoken civil rights campaigns. 6 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:28,520 A man who champions millions of black Americans has been targeted by an 7 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:29,519 assassin. 8 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:30,520 But why? 9 00:01:07,690 --> 00:01:12,770 April 4, 1968, Memphis, Tennessee, 6 .15 p .m. 10 00:01:13,610 --> 00:01:18,170 U .S. civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King is rushed to hospital after 11 00:01:18,170 --> 00:01:18,969 being shot. 12 00:01:18,970 --> 00:01:20,210 He's badly wounded. 13 00:01:22,590 --> 00:01:27,070 At the time, King is a tiring figure, known throughout the world for his 14 00:01:27,070 --> 00:01:29,550 inspired direction of the U .S. civil rights movement. 15 00:01:31,170 --> 00:01:35,590 But in his high -profile fight to win more rights for America's black 16 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:41,080 especially in the deep south, King has also earned the undying hatred of a 17 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:45,540 of violent white extremists who despise him and all he stands for. 18 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:49,900 They see him as a threat to their way of life. 19 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:51,640 They want him out of the way. 20 00:01:52,300 --> 00:01:55,560 But would they go so far as trying to get him killed? 21 00:01:58,780 --> 00:02:02,200 April 3rd, 1968, Atlanta, mid -morning. 22 00:02:05,260 --> 00:02:08,280 King flies to Memphis and checks into the Lorraine Motel. 23 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:13,500 He's come to lend his support to a group of black city sanitation workers. 24 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,940 He's been behind them since February, when they went on strike demanding 25 00:02:18,940 --> 00:02:19,940 pay and conditions. 26 00:02:22,140 --> 00:02:24,820 Now King is determined to get them a good deal. 27 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:30,660 That evening, King heads for the Mason Temple, where he gives a typically 28 00:02:30,660 --> 00:02:34,120 powerful, yet strangely prophetic address. 29 00:02:34,890 --> 00:02:41,010 Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. 30 00:02:41,770 --> 00:02:44,270 But I'm not concerned about that now. 31 00:02:44,810 --> 00:02:46,910 I just want to do God's will. 32 00:02:48,470 --> 00:02:51,370 And he's allowed me to go up to the mountain. 33 00:02:52,310 --> 00:02:53,750 And I've looked over. 34 00:02:55,030 --> 00:02:58,950 And I've seen the promised land. 35 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:32,440 It will become one of King's most famous speeches, but it sounds almost as if 36 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:33,640 he'd received a death threat. 37 00:03:35,780 --> 00:03:40,740 The son of a preacher, Martin Luther King Jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia, 38 00:03:40,740 --> 00:03:42,780 January the 15th, 1929. 39 00:03:45,100 --> 00:03:50,340 By the time he's 24, King is himself a preacher, working at a Baptist church in 40 00:03:50,340 --> 00:03:51,340 Montgomery, Alabama. 41 00:03:54,220 --> 00:03:58,400 Two years later, Montgomery would become known throughout the world when, on 42 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:05,000 December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a 42 -year -old black seamstress, refuses to give 43 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:07,320 up her seat on a bus to a white man. 44 00:04:10,380 --> 00:04:15,840 Under what are known at the time as Jim Crow laws, she's arrested, charged, and 45 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,899 eventually fined $10 with $4 costs. 46 00:04:20,779 --> 00:04:25,480 This case causes outrage, not just in the southern states, but throughout the 47 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:26,980 country's entire black community. 48 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:34,320 And in Montgomery itself, King decides that his people have been pushed around 49 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:39,320 enough. The Rosa Parks incident being the latest in a long line of similar 50 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:40,940 humiliations and violence. 51 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:45,120 He organizes what becomes known as the Montgomery Bus Boycott. 52 00:04:45,690 --> 00:04:50,410 It will last 13 months, during which time black people steadfastly refuse to 53 00:04:50,410 --> 00:04:51,410 the city's buses. 54 00:04:53,250 --> 00:04:58,410 The issue is finally resolved on December 13th, 1956, when the U .S. 55 00:04:58,410 --> 00:05:03,530 Court rules that Alabama state and local policy on segregation is unlawful. 56 00:05:06,570 --> 00:05:11,450 Seven days later, King takes a ride on a bus, sitting at the front in seats 57 00:05:11,450 --> 00:05:13,310 previously reserved for whites only. 58 00:05:16,590 --> 00:05:21,830 By now, he's a national figure. A firm believer in non -violence, he spearheads 59 00:05:21,830 --> 00:05:25,810 the country's rapidly growing civil rights movement under the umbrella of 60 00:05:25,810 --> 00:05:30,450 Southern Christian Leadership Conference, more commonly known as the 61 00:05:31,690 --> 00:05:38,190 A passionate and powerful orator, he works ceaselessly and tirelessly on 62 00:05:38,190 --> 00:05:39,190 of the black community. 63 00:05:41,310 --> 00:05:46,400 Meanwhile, as King's stature steadily increases, A man is sitting out a prison 64 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:48,240 term in Leavenworth, Kansas. 65 00:05:49,860 --> 00:05:54,700 James Earl Ray, an habitual criminal, has been in and out of various prisons 66 00:05:54,700 --> 00:05:58,740 most of his adult life, since being discharged from the U .S. Army in 67 00:05:58,740 --> 00:06:04,520 1948 for what was described as ineptness and lack of adaptability for military 68 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:05,520 service. 69 00:06:06,860 --> 00:06:08,720 However, the Army gave him something. 70 00:06:09,180 --> 00:06:11,000 It taught him how to use a rifle. 71 00:06:12,460 --> 00:06:15,820 Ray's life could scarcely be more different from that of King. 72 00:06:16,140 --> 00:06:20,800 But one day in the future, they will come together in dramatic circumstances. 73 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:32,580 While America's black community might regard Martin Luther King as a hero, 74 00:06:32,580 --> 00:06:34,560 are others who see him as a dangerous man. 75 00:06:36,980 --> 00:06:42,080 In 1961, Convinced that the civil rights movement is being infiltrated by 76 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:48,480 communists, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover gives orders to tap King's phones and 77 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:50,500 keep close tabs on him wherever he goes. 78 00:06:51,740 --> 00:06:54,500 The surveillance would continue for the next six years. 79 00:06:56,040 --> 00:07:01,020 But nothing can stop King's growing influence and the massive impact he 80 00:07:01,020 --> 00:07:02,020 U .S. society. 81 00:07:04,820 --> 00:07:08,220 August 28, 1963, Washington, D .C. 82 00:07:11,210 --> 00:07:15,590 King leads a march through the nation's capital calling for jobs and freedom. 83 00:07:17,810 --> 00:07:21,690 Earlier, President John F. Kennedy had opposed the march, thinking it would 84 00:07:21,690 --> 00:07:24,130 impact negatively on civil rights legislation. 85 00:07:24,590 --> 00:07:27,530 But in the end, he's persuaded to let it go ahead. 86 00:07:29,510 --> 00:07:34,250 Despite Kennedy's earlier misgivings, the march, involving around 250 ,000 87 00:07:34,250 --> 00:07:36,230 people, passes off without incident. 88 00:07:39,050 --> 00:07:44,000 And that evening, King, standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, delivers 89 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,440 an address which electrifies the nation. 90 00:07:49,300 --> 00:07:54,300 I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, 91 00:07:54,760 --> 00:08:01,740 sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be 92 00:08:01,740 --> 00:08:06,940 able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream. 93 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:17,000 My four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be 94 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:21,820 judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I 95 00:08:21,820 --> 00:08:22,820 a dream today. 96 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:36,280 The speech consolidates King's already tiring stature. Even President 97 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:38,860 Kennedy, shortly to be assassinated himself, 98 00:08:39,659 --> 00:08:40,659 congratulates him. 99 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:47,480 But there are those, particularly FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who, alarmed 100 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:49,980 King's success, wished to discredit him. 101 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:56,620 July 2nd, 1964, the White House, Washington, D .C. 102 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:01,420 Martin Luther King arrives to witness an historic event. 103 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:09,060 The new president, Lyndon B. Johnson, signs the groundbreaking Civil Rights 104 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:14,280 At a stroke, racial segregation is outlawed throughout the U .S. 105 00:09:15,660 --> 00:09:21,280 This Civil Rights Act is a challenge to all of us to go to work in our 106 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:26,980 communities and our states, in our homes and in our hearts, to eliminate 107 00:09:26,980 --> 00:09:32,960 the last vestiges of injustice in our beloved country. 108 00:09:35,150 --> 00:09:40,570 But a great many southern diehards regard the act, and King's part in it, 109 00:09:40,570 --> 00:09:41,570 ultimate betrayal. 110 00:09:46,810 --> 00:09:51,570 They bitterly resent the emancipation of black Americans, just as their 111 00:09:51,570 --> 00:09:55,370 forefathers resented the final abolition of slavery just a hundred years 112 00:09:55,370 --> 00:09:56,370 earlier. 113 00:09:58,610 --> 00:10:02,910 Slaves have played a vital role in the country's economy since the mid -18th 114 00:10:02,910 --> 00:10:07,270 century. particularly in the South, where they toiled in the cotton and 115 00:10:07,270 --> 00:10:08,270 fields. 116 00:10:10,530 --> 00:10:16,370 But in 1865, the American Civil War put paid to all that, as the North, led by 117 00:10:16,370 --> 00:10:21,030 President Abraham Lincoln, defeated the forces of the South and did away with 118 00:10:21,030 --> 00:10:22,030 slavery. 119 00:10:24,210 --> 00:10:28,910 Black Americans continued to work in the fields and elsewhere, but now as free 120 00:10:28,910 --> 00:10:29,910 men and women. 121 00:10:32,819 --> 00:10:37,340 Outraged at this reversal, a short time later, a group of white supremacists 122 00:10:37,340 --> 00:10:42,320 found the Ku Klux Klan, an organization totally dedicated to the violent 123 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:43,800 suppression of black Americans. 124 00:10:46,340 --> 00:10:51,280 By the early 1960s, the Klan had faded into virtual obscurity, but the 125 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,200 resentment of the supremacists remained the same. 126 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:02,330 Now they're faced with the unpalatable fact that the Civil Rights Act makes 127 00:11:02,330 --> 00:11:05,130 black Americans their equals in the eyes of the law. 128 00:11:06,870 --> 00:11:11,430 And the one person they blame above all others, Martin Luther King. 129 00:11:13,850 --> 00:11:17,830 He now encounters growing hostility and violence wherever he goes. 130 00:11:21,770 --> 00:11:25,250 His life is in constant danger as tension mounts. 131 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:32,840 December 10th, 1964, Norway. 132 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:38,860 King's considerable achievements are, however, recognized elsewhere when he's 133 00:11:38,860 --> 00:11:40,280 awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. 134 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:47,200 April 23rd, 1967, Missouri. 135 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:54,300 A man escapes from the state penitentiary in Jefferson City after 136 00:11:54,300 --> 00:11:57,180 years of a 20 -year sentence for robbing a grocery store. 137 00:11:58,850 --> 00:12:04,270 It's James Earl Ray, and this time he's determined not to get caught, travelling 138 00:12:04,270 --> 00:12:07,290 first to Chicago and then on to Montreal, Canada. 139 00:12:09,630 --> 00:12:14,590 A few months later, he's back in the US, crisscrossing the country before ending 140 00:12:14,590 --> 00:12:15,590 up in Memphis. 141 00:12:18,250 --> 00:12:20,990 April the 4th, 1968, Memphis. 142 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:27,500 James Earl Ray, giving his name as John Willard, checks into a boarding house on 143 00:12:27,500 --> 00:12:28,500 South Main Street. 144 00:12:32,340 --> 00:12:35,300 The Lorraine Motel, Memphis, early evening. 145 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:42,360 Martin Luther King is standing alone on the balcony of his room while his 146 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:43,780 companions gather inside. 147 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:50,620 Little does he know he's being observed by a man intent on killing him. 148 00:12:53,420 --> 00:12:56,300 Suddenly a shot rings out and King collapses. 149 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:04,180 The Reverend Samuel Kiles recalls the tragic event. 150 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:09,440 And when I looked around, all I could see was the lower half of Dr. King's 151 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:13,860 because it threw him back beyond this point. 152 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,760 And when I looked, I just saw his leg, his foot was on the rail. 153 00:13:18,340 --> 00:13:19,860 He was lying in this position. 154 00:13:21,060 --> 00:13:25,430 And I distinctly remember, looking at him. I don't think I touched him. I 155 00:13:25,430 --> 00:13:26,430 at him. 156 00:13:26,590 --> 00:13:33,330 And I remember, sort of like you get a just complete look in one moment. 157 00:13:33,830 --> 00:13:39,870 And I remember the necktie, the knot of his tie had been severed, just cut and 158 00:13:39,870 --> 00:13:40,870 was laying open. 159 00:13:41,110 --> 00:13:45,790 There was a tremendous wound right here where the bullet went in. 160 00:13:47,470 --> 00:13:51,270 King arrived at St. Joseph's Hospital within 15 minutes of the shooting. 161 00:13:58,010 --> 00:14:00,370 Meanwhile, police race to the Lorraine. 162 00:14:01,970 --> 00:14:05,830 A team of medics get to work on King, but there's nothing they can do to save 163 00:14:05,830 --> 00:14:10,070 him. He's just too badly wounded and dies less than an hour later. 164 00:14:13,310 --> 00:14:17,370 Now police swarm all over the Lorraine motel and the surrounding area. 165 00:14:20,170 --> 00:14:23,910 It's apparent that King has been shot with a rifle from the boarding house 166 00:14:23,910 --> 00:14:25,130 overlooking the motel. 167 00:14:27,950 --> 00:14:29,670 The killer fired from a bathroom. 168 00:14:29,910 --> 00:14:33,230 The window is jammed open, and there are footprints in the bath. 169 00:14:36,650 --> 00:14:40,310 A woman reports that she'd seen a man running from the boarding house shortly 170 00:14:40,310 --> 00:14:41,310 after 6 p .m. 171 00:14:43,470 --> 00:14:50,090 He discards a bulky package in the nearby shop doorway, jumps into a white 172 00:14:50,090 --> 00:14:51,670 Mustang, and speeds off. 173 00:14:53,650 --> 00:14:56,090 The package contains a number of items. 174 00:14:57,190 --> 00:15:03,090 including two cans of beer, a pair of binoculars, ammunition, 175 00:15:03,510 --> 00:15:08,810 various tools, including a hammer, a portable radio, 176 00:15:09,090 --> 00:15:15,290 and a Remington 760 Game Master rifle fitted with a telescopic sight. 177 00:15:15,810 --> 00:15:19,750 The rifle is traced to a gun shop in Birmingham, Alabama, where it's said to 178 00:15:19,750 --> 00:15:23,490 have been bought six days earlier by a man calling himself Harvey Lohmeyer. 179 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:27,620 However, fingerprints taken from the gun belong to a 40 -year -old escaped 180 00:15:27,620 --> 00:15:29,660 convict, James Earl Ray. 181 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,700 He is now America's most wanted man. 182 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:40,160 April 4th, 1968, Memphis. 183 00:15:41,900 --> 00:15:45,400 As news of King's death is announced, a riot breaks out. 184 00:15:46,900 --> 00:15:50,220 The violence soon spreads across 40 U .S. cities. 185 00:15:54,380 --> 00:15:56,820 Looters take advantage of the worsening situation. 186 00:16:00,100 --> 00:16:05,880 As the night wears on, 4 ,000 National Guardsmen are drafted into Memphis to 187 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:09,940 back up the hard -pressed police, who by now have lost control. 188 00:16:11,900 --> 00:16:15,920 A dust -to -dawn curfew is ordered in an attempt to ward off further 189 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:16,920 disturbances. 190 00:16:19,260 --> 00:16:21,480 April 5th, Washington, D .C. 191 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:25,480 President Lyndon B. Johnson makes a plea for calm. 192 00:16:26,340 --> 00:16:33,320 I ask every citizen to reject the blind violence that has struck 193 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:34,320 Dr. King. 194 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:39,520 Johnson is only too aware that unless the country is to tear itself apart, the 195 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,040 killer must be caught, and caught quickly. 196 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:50,720 Now, as police launch one of the greatest manhunts in US history, A $100 197 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:54,420 reward is posted for the capture and conviction of King's assassin. 198 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:01,580 Meanwhile, Ray has driven flat out to Atlanta, where he abandoned her. 199 00:17:03,860 --> 00:17:06,579 From there, he makes his way to Toronto, Canada. 200 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:13,540 April the 8th, 1968, Memphis. 201 00:17:16,300 --> 00:17:19,700 Grief -stricken mourners file past King's open coffin. 202 00:17:21,839 --> 00:17:26,819 Under strict security, King's body is then flown to his hometown, Atlanta. 203 00:17:29,940 --> 00:17:32,680 April the 9th, 1968, Atlanta. 204 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:39,460 As King's funeral takes place, some of the mourners bitterly remember the civil 205 00:17:39,460 --> 00:17:41,600 rights leader's pragmatic views on assassination. 206 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:49,340 I'm realistic enough to know that I can meet a violent end. I live every day 207 00:17:49,340 --> 00:17:50,420 under the threat of death. 208 00:17:51,020 --> 00:17:56,620 And I have no illusions about it. There are enough sick people in the world for 209 00:17:56,620 --> 00:18:01,340 me to come to a violent end, just as other leaders have come to a violent 210 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:08,380 But I don't have any fear about it. You can't function if you just go around day 211 00:18:08,380 --> 00:18:10,020 in and day out fearing death. 212 00:18:13,450 --> 00:18:16,870 May the 7th, 1968, Heathrow Airport, London. 213 00:18:19,170 --> 00:18:21,330 James Earl Ray arrives from Toronto. 214 00:18:24,050 --> 00:18:26,670 Later the same day, he flies to Lisbon, Portugal. 215 00:18:28,610 --> 00:18:32,650 Ten days later, Ray returns to London and rents a room in Earl's Court. 216 00:18:36,050 --> 00:18:39,390 June the 8th, 1968, Heathrow Airport, London. 217 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:44,020 Once again, Ray is on the move. 218 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:48,780 But as he checks in for a flight to Belgium, he's recognized by an alert 219 00:18:48,780 --> 00:18:49,780 official. 220 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:57,520 He's arrested and charged with carrying a false passport and firearm without a 221 00:18:57,520 --> 00:18:58,520 certificate. 222 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:04,940 Following a lengthy legal process, Ray is extradited to the U .S. and held in a 223 00:19:04,940 --> 00:19:06,380 special cell to await trial. 224 00:19:08,540 --> 00:19:11,400 March the 10th, 1969, Memphis. 225 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:19,080 Among scenes of unprecedented security, Ray finally appears in court, where he's 226 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:21,160 charged with the murder of Martin Luther King. 227 00:19:24,100 --> 00:19:29,840 In order to avoid a possible death sentence, Ray admits killing King, says 228 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:33,400 one else was involved, and is sentenced to 99 years in prison. 229 00:19:35,620 --> 00:19:39,340 He's defended by legendary Texan lawyer Percy Foreman. 230 00:19:40,940 --> 00:19:43,500 I didn't persuade James Earl Ray to plead guilty. 231 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:50,700 James Earl Ray wanted to live in preference to death, and he thought he 232 00:19:50,700 --> 00:19:52,280 would be executed. 233 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:55,820 And if he were executed, he couldn't escape. 234 00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:00,000 But if he went to the penitentiary, he felt that he could escape. 235 00:20:02,260 --> 00:20:05,580 However, three days later, Ray retracts his admission of guilt. 236 00:20:06,020 --> 00:20:09,780 Now he claims he's innocent after all, and demands a new trial. 237 00:20:10,300 --> 00:20:11,600 But no one listens to him. 238 00:20:14,380 --> 00:20:20,640 And there the matter rests, until nine years later, when, in August 1978, Ray 239 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,780 appears before the U .S. House Select Committee on Assassinations. 240 00:20:25,620 --> 00:20:30,500 In protesting his innocence, he now claims he'd been set up by a Mexican gun 241 00:20:30,500 --> 00:20:33,840 -running gang and that he'd been nowhere near the scene of the crime. 242 00:20:35,610 --> 00:20:39,890 Instead, he'd been downtown at a Memphis garage getting a tire fixed. 243 00:20:40,370 --> 00:20:44,170 He then panicked at the police activity and made off. 244 00:20:44,390 --> 00:20:48,110 He knew that if he was questioned, there was a strong chance his true identity 245 00:20:48,110 --> 00:20:50,350 as an escaped convict would be revealed. 246 00:20:52,230 --> 00:20:54,450 The committee is unimpressed. 247 00:20:56,210 --> 00:20:59,810 However, its members were inclined to agree he hadn't acted alone. 248 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:05,740 They believe he'd been put up to the assassination by a group of right -wing 249 00:21:05,740 --> 00:21:07,540 extremists who wanted rid of King. 250 00:21:09,940 --> 00:21:14,960 Meanwhile, despite continuing civil rights lobbying to release them, the 251 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:19,020 Committee investigative files on the killing are sealed until 2029. 252 00:21:20,620 --> 00:21:26,400 For years after his death, King's widow, Coretta, continues to push for answers. 253 00:21:28,350 --> 00:21:32,930 to make it clear that I am not interested in any form of retribution or 254 00:21:32,930 --> 00:21:34,850 punishment of anyone. 255 00:21:35,590 --> 00:21:37,530 I just want to get the truth. 256 00:21:39,410 --> 00:21:42,070 Now there's open talk of a government cover -up. 257 00:21:42,390 --> 00:21:46,490 And, as one of King's former colleagues, the Reverend Ralph Abernathy, later 258 00:21:46,490 --> 00:21:49,210 recalled, no one was above suspicion. 259 00:21:50,070 --> 00:21:54,530 I think he was gotten rid of by a conspiracy. 260 00:21:56,080 --> 00:22:02,500 The evil forces of this nation in high places, the 261 00:22:02,500 --> 00:22:09,180 FBI under Hoover, who hated Dr. King, and 262 00:22:09,180 --> 00:22:15,760 these forces decided that Dr. King had gone 263 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:21,020 too far because he was organizing the Poor People's Campaign. 264 00:22:21,820 --> 00:22:23,920 He was bringing black. 265 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:31,960 and white, brown, red, and yellow people all together. 266 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:39,580 And that was too powerful for the American 267 00:22:39,580 --> 00:22:41,420 scene to endure. 268 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:47,720 And according to author and historian Professor Christopher Andrew, racial 269 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:51,800 harmony in the U .S. is also the last thing Russia's intelligence and security 270 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:53,940 agency, the KGB, wanted. 271 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:58,120 What they wanted was race war in the United States. 272 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:04,520 So in the mid -1960s, they start developing this whole series of active 273 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:08,260 to discredit Martin Luther King. It's quite a sophisticated theme. 274 00:23:08,740 --> 00:23:13,020 What they're going to do is plant stories in the African press which 275 00:23:13,020 --> 00:23:18,340 Martin Luther King as an Uncle Tom and which produce bogus evidence that he's 276 00:23:18,340 --> 00:23:21,640 actually in the play of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. 277 00:23:22,700 --> 00:23:27,920 What changes their mind, of course, is that their immense relief, Martin Luther 278 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:34,000 King is assassinated in 1968, greeted with whoops of joy in the centre, you 279 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:39,740 know, because the one man who could prevent the long hot summers becoming 280 00:23:39,740 --> 00:23:46,120 and hotter is out of the way. So now he becomes a martyr to sinister right -wing 281 00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:47,240 racist conspiracies. 282 00:23:49,900 --> 00:23:54,060 April 23, 1998, Brushy Mountain Penitentiary, Tennessee. 283 00:23:56,260 --> 00:23:59,880 James Earl Ray dies from liver disease, age 70. 284 00:24:00,260 --> 00:24:03,940 He maintains his innocence of King's assassination until the very end. 285 00:24:06,380 --> 00:24:10,680 Four months later, as the rumors about a high -level cover -up refuse to lie 286 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:14,460 down, the U .S. Justice Department opens a review of the case. 287 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:20,200 In June 2000, after examining all the available evidence, The U .S. Justice 288 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:25,780 Department concludes, in a 138 -page report, that there was no conspiracy 289 00:24:25,780 --> 00:24:26,780 to answer. 290 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:29,320 In their opinion, Ray had acted alone. 291 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:32,900 There was never any question of him having been framed. 292 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:40,480 However, as the report concludes, questions and speculation may always 293 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:45,040 the assassination of Dr. King and other national tragedies. 294 00:24:46,120 --> 00:24:50,520 In other words, the whole truth behind King's death and Ray's part in it will 295 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:51,800 probably never be revealed. 296 00:24:56,420 --> 00:25:01,200 There is no doubt that while he was alive, Martin Luther King inspired a 297 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:02,640 generation of black Americans. 298 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:10,380 But when civil rights passed into law in 299 00:25:10,380 --> 00:25:15,600 1964... King's role as a radical racial reformer became less relevant. 300 00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:22,160 However, he will always be remembered and revered by black Americans as the 301 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:26,680 who changed their lives forever, and in doing so, lost his own. 28377

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