What is the History of Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

4. Assassination

Not everyone was happy with King's successes. He received many death threats over the years and had even survived an assassination attempt. In 1968, he was in Memphis, Tennessee, to support striking city workers who were protesting the lower wages and unfair working conditions that black employees experienced. While standing on the balcony of his hotel room, he was shot by James Earl Ray, a white man who supported segregation. King was rushed to the hospital but died later that night, at the age of 39.