Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr., an American clergyman and civil rights leader, was shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. King was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, and was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. CST. He was a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was known for his use of nonviolence and civil disobedience. James Earl Ray, a fugitive from the Missouri State Penitentiary, was arrested on June 8, 1968, in London at Heathrow Airport, extradited to the United States, and charged
Martin Luther King Drive station still standing as recently as the Autumn of 2011, but has since been demolished. The new station was raised to a level crossing. Martin Luther King Drive was once called Jackson Avenue, and until 1947 Public Service Railway's # 7 Jackson streetcar line ran along it. A small block called Jackson still exists that was not included in a realignment. It was later named in honor of the slain civil right leader Martin Luther King, Jr., who had twice spoken in the city. The drive has been the heart of the African American community in Jersey City for decades, and