"If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be."

– Maya Angelou

Poet, author, dancer, civil rights activist, and educator Dr. Maya Angelou was born April 4, 1928. She worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whom she greatly admired, in 1960 when she directed the New York office of the SCLC*. MLK died April 4, 1968 on her 40th birthday. She was profoundly affected by his life and his death.

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/angelou-maya

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58 years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. The man responsible for the assassination was white supremacist James Earl Ray, who was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 99 years in prison. However, he died in 1998 from Hepatitis C.

#blackandwhite #mlk #assassination

Today In Labor History April 4, 1968: James Earl Ray assassinated Martin Luther King at the Lorraine Hotel, Memphis, Tennessee. King was in Memphis to support the sanitation workers’ strike that had started in February, 1968, for better working conditions and higher pay. The strike began 2 weeks after 2 workers were crushed to death when their truck malfunctioned, intensifying the already high level of frustration and anger over working conditions and safety. King led a protest march on March 28. Over 20,000 kids cut class to join the demonstration. Some members of the march began smashing downtown windows and looting. The cops intervened with mace, tear gas, clubs and live gunfire, killing 16-year-old Larry Paine, who had his hands in the air when he was shot. On April 3, one day before his assassination, King gave his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #CivilRights #MartinLutherKing #racism #assassination #mlk #memphis #union #strike #police #policebrutality #policemurder #capitalism #students #kids #BlackMastodon