Reporter breaks silence and recalls night with MLK wife and children after assassination

[Hart2008]

It was eerie. Just hours after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated, I was in his home with his widow and eldest child, watching TV coverage of his death in awed silence.
...
The three of us were the only ones in the bedroom and were mesmerized before the TV screen, watching King's face and listening to his powerful and prophetic final speech in Memphis, Tennessee.

Coretta wept softly as her husband's voice thundered, "I am not afraid. ... Blessed is the name of the Lord."

Of course, I didn't know what she was thinking -- but if I had to guess, maybe she was wondering about her uncertain future and that of her children. And listening to her husband's speech, perhaps she began to think about what could she do to carry on his civil rights legacy.

The phone rang and I heard Coretta say, "Mr. President," and knew that Lyndon Johnson was calling from the White House to offer his condolences. I left the room briefly for her conversation with the president. Coretta did not speak of the call, nor did I ask about it.

Instinctively, I wanted to respect her privacy. She had returned quickly to her intense concentration, watching her husband on TV.

Twelve-year-old Yoki, dressed in pajamas and robe with her hair in pink curlers, lay on her stomach on the bedroom floor, her face propped between her hands.

Like her mother, she displayed little emotion -- I wonder if she was trying to realize what the loss of a father meant.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/02/mlk.coretta.king/index.html

[Ishoutandscream2]

1. So tragic. One of the two or three greatest Americans of the 20th century

Murdered for preaching against intolerance and hatred, and calling for compassion, love, and equality. Such a waste.

[BlooInBloo]

2. Or of any century.

[Hart2008]

8. Tragic, yes. He truly imitated Jesus Christ. What more in the name of love?

Early evening, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

In the name of love!
What more in the name of love?

U2

[malaise]

3. Thanks for this

I can't imagine the pain.

[Hart2008]

9. No problem. I thought it was worth sharing. n/t

[aquart]

4. They were in shock.

Probably thinking they'd wake up soon. Hoping they'd wake up soon. Because nothing was feeling real.

[flashl]

5. K&R

[midnight]

6. "Out lifes begin to end the day we become silent about the

things that matter" Martin Luther King Jr.

[Tinksrival]

7. ........