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 Memorial Prize Martin Luther King Memorial Prize The Martin Luther King Memorial Prize was instituted by novelist John Brunner and his wife and was awarded annually to a literary work published in the US or Britain that was deemed to improve interrracial understanding, "reflecting the ideals to which Dr. Martin Luther King dedicated his life". The author of the winning work was awarded £100. Winners of the prize have included "Because They're Black" (1972) by Derek Humphry and Gus John, " Black and White: The Negro and English Society" (1975) by James Walvin, "A Dry White Season" (1980) by André Brink, "In