Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. assassination. King had been targeted by COINTELPRO and had also been under surveillance by military intelligence agencies during the period leading up to his assassination under the code name Operation Lantern Spike. A church minister, Ronald Denton Wilson, claimed his father, Henry Clay Wilson, assassinated Martin Luther King Jr., not James Earl Ray. He stated, "It wasn't a racist thing; he thought Martin Luther King was connected with communism, and he wanted to get him out of the way." But Wilson had reportedly previously admitted his father was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. In 2004, Jesse Jackson, who
Martin Luther King Jr. Day have been those who thought they could kill the dream by slaying the dreamer, but – as the example of King's life shows – such people are always wrong. Every year, since 1986, the Dr. Martin Luther King Tribute and Dinner is held in Wassenaar, The Netherlands. The Tribute includes young people and veterans of the Civil Rights Movement as well as music. it always ends with everyone holding hands in a circle and singing "We Shall Overcome." The Tribute is held on the last Sunday in January and bridges Dr. King's birthday and Black History Month. 1985–2100 Martin Luther