For a while now, I’ve marked the significance of April 4, the day Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, as one that calls for serious reflection. This year has been different in how I feel about the loss; this time, mourning accompanied contemplation. Easter, I’m sure, has everything to do with this difference. In 1968, April 4 occurred on Thursday and not Sunday–Easter Sunday was observed on April 14 in 1968–this year, Easter preparation coincided with the King assassination.
I have started gathering images that inspire novel ways of considering the assassination of King. Below is a glimpse of what our dates would look like if our calendar mirrored the events immediately preceding, then following King’s violent death:
Saturday: April 6, 1968
Mourners standing in line outside Sisters Chapel at Spelman College to pay last respects to Martin Luther King, Jr.
Friday: April 5, 1968
MLK’s body enroute to Atlanta.
Mourner viewing MLK’s body at R.S. Lewis Funeral Home. Mr. Lewis prepared King’s body so well that his face and neck were seemingly restored to their previous state before the shooting.
Thursday: April 4, 1968
Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot with a single bullet at 6:05 p.m.
Ostensibly, this is a fully restored hearse that carried MLK’s body from the Lorraine Motel to St. Joseph.
Remington 70-60; Gamemaster .30-06 rifle said to be the weapon used to kill King.
King pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday: April 3, 1968
Exterior view of the Mason Temple.Reverends Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy on opposite sides of MLK, who appears to be making notes for the speech that he will be delivering. This final speech is widely known today as King’s “Mountaintop” speech.
In Reverie Blog 