04/05/2018
Wednesday, April 4th, 2018 marked 50 years since the assassination of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
King was shot and killed while standing on a balcony outside the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. He had traveled there for a sanitation workers strike.
A commemorative ceremony marked it as a day of remembrance, celebration and looking back on King’s life and legacy. Among those who spoke was the Rev. Jesse Jackson, one of only two surviving members of King’s entourage on the day he was shot.
Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Catholic priest and activist against street violence on Chicago’s South Side, gave the keynote address. His speech was followed by an International Moment of Reflection. The bell at the historic Clayborn Temple was rung 39 times starting at 6:01 p.m., when King was shot.
A delegation from our Local Lodge proudly attended this historic celebration of Dr. King’s life and legacy.