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Memphis workers reflect on Martin Luther King Jr. assassination 50 years later

  • Jerry Coleman (R), a forklift operator by day, takes pictures while he films a scene for his Youtube movie "All Lives Matter" with his friends at the Lorraine Motel, where civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. Coleman was improvising a scene about what MLK might have thought of the violence on the streets today. "We really want to know what he would think if he was still around. He could be anything, he could be the president right now, we don't know. Whatever's going on in Memphis, I'm on a positive tip. I grew up in a neighbourhood with lots of things going on, but that's not going to stop me from having fun." REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    1/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    Jerry Coleman (R), a forklift operator by day, takes pictures while he films a scene for his Youtube movie "All Lives Matter" with his friends at the Lorraine Motel, where civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. Coleman was improvising a scene about what MLK might have thought of the violence on the streets today. "We really want to know what he would think if he was still around. He could be anything, he could be the president right now, we don't know. Whatever's going on in Memphis, I'm on a positive tip. I grew up in a neighbourhood with lots of things going on, but that's not going to stop me from having fun." REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • The U.S. flag decorates a building in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    The U.S. flag decorates a building in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • Henry Leach poses for a photograph as he stands under a commemorative "I am a Man" sign at Ms. Girlees's Soul Food restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 29, 2018. Leach, who participated in the strike 50 years ago, said King came to the city for justice, not violence. "He came to help us get what we wanted. Like I tell you, he became like a father to us," the former sanitation worker, said recently. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    3/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    Henry Leach poses for a photograph as he stands under a commemorative "I am a Man" sign at Ms. Girlees's Soul Food restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 29, 2018. Leach, who participated in the strike 50 years ago, said King came to the city for justice, not violence. "He came to help us get what we wanted. Like I tell you, he became like a father to us," the former sanitation worker, said recently. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • A stained glass portrait of Bishop W.F. Ball, which hearkens back to the historic roots of Clayborn Temple, hangs in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. March 25, 2018. The church is the building where the striking workers met 50 years ago at the time of Martin Luther King Jr. assassination. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    A stained glass portrait of Bishop W.F. Ball, which hearkens back to the historic roots of Clayborn Temple, hangs in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. March 25, 2018. The church is the building where the striking workers met 50 years ago at the time of Martin Luther King Jr. assassination. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • A street sign marks Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    A street sign marks Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • A car drives by the house, slated to be moved to a new location, where singer Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 29, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    A car drives by the house, slated to be moved to a new location, where singer Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 29, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • Sanitation worker Walter Coleman works a route on a truck decorated to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 28, 2018. King Jr. was shot and killed while rallying with striking sanitation workers in 1968. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    7/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    Sanitation worker Walter Coleman works a route on a truck decorated to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 28, 2018. King Jr. was shot and killed while rallying with striking sanitation workers in 1968. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • A makeshift memorial of stuffed animals honours Deandre Claxton who was killed in a shooting after an argument in May 2016 in Soulsville, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    8/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    A makeshift memorial of stuffed animals honours Deandre Claxton who was killed in a shooting after an argument in May 2016 in Soulsville, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • A statue of Rosa Parks sits at the front of a bus in the National Civil Rights Museum, on the site of the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    9/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    A statue of Rosa Parks sits at the front of a bus in the National Civil Rights Museum, on the site of the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • A man sits outside the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. stayed before he was shot and killed in 1968, now the National Civil Rights Museum, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 25, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    10/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    A man sits outside the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. stayed before he was shot and killed in 1968, now the National Civil Rights Museum, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 25, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • People visit the reconstructed hotel room where Martin Luther King Jr. stayed before he was shot and killed in 1968 at the Lorraine Motel, now the National Civil Rights Museum, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    11/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    People visit the reconstructed hotel room where Martin Luther King Jr. stayed before he was shot and killed in 1968 at the Lorraine Motel, now the National Civil Rights Museum, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • People visit the reconstructed hotel room where Martin Luther King Jr. was staying before he was shot and killed at the in 1968 at the Lorraine Motel, now the National Civil Rights Museum, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    12/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    People visit the reconstructed hotel room where Martin Luther King Jr. was staying before he was shot and killed at the in 1968 at the Lorraine Motel, now the National Civil Rights Museum, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • Rev. Earle Fisher (L), a Black Lives Matter leader, holds a planning meeting to mobilise activists for future rallies in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    13/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    Rev. Earle Fisher (L), a Black Lives Matter leader, holds a planning meeting to mobilise activists for future rallies in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • Henry Leach (L), talks with his granddaughters and his friend Clarence Christian (R) at his family's Ms. Girlees's Soul Food Restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. Leach, who participated in the strike 50 years ago, said King came to the city for justice, not violence. "He came to help us get what we wanted. Like I tell you, he became like a father to us," the former sanitation worker said recently. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    14/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    Henry Leach (L), talks with his granddaughters and his friend Clarence Christian (R) at his family's Ms. Girlees's Soul Food Restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. Leach, who participated in the strike 50 years ago, said King came to the city for justice, not violence. "He came to help us get what we wanted. Like I tell you, he became like a father to us," the former sanitation worker said recently. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • Side dishes including (clockwise from top right) cabbage, sweet potatoes, collared greens, rice, beans and macaroni-and-cheese are ready to be served at Ms. Girlee's Soul Food Restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 29, 2018. The restaurant is owned by Henry Leach and his family. Leach, who participated in the strike 50 years ago, said Martin Luther King came to the city for justice, not violence. "He came to help us get what we wanted. Like I tell you, he became like a father to us," the former sanitation worker said recently. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    15/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    Side dishes including (clockwise from top right) cabbage, sweet potatoes, collared greens, rice, beans and macaroni-and-cheese are ready to be served at Ms. Girlee's Soul Food Restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 29, 2018. The restaurant is owned by Henry Leach and his family. Leach, who participated in the strike 50 years ago, said Martin Luther King came to the city for justice, not violence. "He came to help us get what we wanted. Like I tell you, he became like a father to us," the former sanitation worker said recently. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • Activist Sweet Willie Wine looks through papers near his framed "Memphis Invaders" (a black power group) jacket in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 29, 2018. After spending time in prison as a young man, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. inspired Wine to dedicate his life to the Civil Rights movement. He was three blocks away from the Lorraine Motel when King was killed on April 4, 1968. "On Friday, April the 5th, his body was at Lewis' Funeral Home. Something said to me, "Get up and go down to Lewis's Funeral Home," said Wine. "I went in and over him I said, 'Dr. King, I'm gonna make them pay.' That's when I made my commitment. That was fifty years ago, and I've not turned around since." REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    16/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    Activist Sweet Willie Wine looks through papers near his framed "Memphis Invaders" (a black power group) jacket in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 29, 2018. After spending time in prison as a young man, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. inspired Wine to dedicate his life to the Civil Rights movement. He was three blocks away from the Lorraine Motel when King was killed on April 4, 1968. "On Friday, April the 5th, his body was at Lewis' Funeral Home. Something said to me, "Get up and go down to Lewis's Funeral Home," said Wine. "I went in and over him I said, 'Dr. King, I'm gonna make them pay.' That's when I made my commitment. That was fifty years ago, and I've not turned around since." REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • Words are seen on the facade of Archie Hurt's house in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 29, 2018. Hurt, who regards Martin Luther King Jr. as a prophet, has been painting parts of Biblical scripture interspersed with his thoughts on religion, politics and current events on the front of his house for ten years and twenty years before that when it was his brother's house. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    17/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    Words are seen on the facade of Archie Hurt's house in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 29, 2018. Hurt, who regards Martin Luther King Jr. as a prophet, has been painting parts of Biblical scripture interspersed with his thoughts on religion, politics and current events on the front of his house for ten years and twenty years before that when it was his brother's house. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • The base of a statue to Nathan Bedford Forrest, a founder of the Ku Klux Klan, stands in a park in Memphis, Tennessee. In December 2017 activists forced a removal of the statue from his gravesite. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    18/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    The base of a statue to Nathan Bedford Forrest, a founder of the Ku Klux Klan, stands in a park in Memphis, Tennessee. In December 2017 activists forced a removal of the statue from his gravesite. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • A marker on a street corner in the Soulsville neighbourhood marks the spot of the People's Grocery lynching of African-American proprietors Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell and Will Stewart in 1892, which spurred Ida B. Wells in her crusade against lynching, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    19/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    A marker on a street corner in the Soulsville neighbourhood marks the spot of the People's Grocery lynching of African-American proprietors Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell and Will Stewart in 1892, which spurred Ida B. Wells in her crusade against lynching, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
  • A cotton-themed mural decorates a building in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    20/20

    The Wider Image: Memphis 50 years after MLK's death

    A cotton-themed mural decorates a building in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    Reuters
Jerry Coleman (R), a forklift operator by day, takes pictures while he films a scene for his Youtube movie "All Lives Matter" with his friends at the Lorraine Motel, where civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. Coleman was improvising a scene about what MLK might have thought of the violence on the streets today. "We really want to know what he would think if he was still around. He could be anything, he could be the president right now, we don't know. Whatever's going on in Memphis, I'm on a positive tip. I grew up in a neighbourhood with lots of things going on, but that's not going to stop me from having fun." REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
The U.S. flag decorates a building in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Henry Leach poses for a photograph as he stands under a commemorative "I am a Man" sign at Ms. Girlees's Soul Food restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 29, 2018. Leach, who participated in the strike 50 years ago, said King came to the city for justice, not violence. "He came to help us get what we wanted. Like I tell you, he became like a father to us," the former sanitation worker, said recently. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
A stained glass portrait of Bishop W.F. Ball, which hearkens back to the historic roots of Clayborn Temple, hangs in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. March 25, 2018. The church is the building where the striking workers met 50 years ago at the time of Martin Luther King Jr. assassination. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
A street sign marks Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
A car drives by the house, slated to be moved to a new location, where singer Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 29, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Sanitation worker Walter Coleman works a route on a truck decorated to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 28, 2018. King Jr. was shot and killed while rallying with striking sanitation workers in 1968. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
A makeshift memorial of stuffed animals honours Deandre Claxton who was killed in a shooting after an argument in May 2016 in Soulsville, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
A statue of Rosa Parks sits at the front of a bus in the National Civil Rights Museum, on the site of the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
A man sits outside the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. stayed before he was shot and killed in 1968, now the National Civil Rights Museum, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 25, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
People visit the reconstructed hotel room where Martin Luther King Jr. stayed before he was shot and killed in 1968 at the Lorraine Motel, now the National Civil Rights Museum, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
People visit the reconstructed hotel room where Martin Luther King Jr. was staying before he was shot and killed at the in 1968 at the Lorraine Motel, now the National Civil Rights Museum, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Rev. Earle Fisher (L), a Black Lives Matter leader, holds a planning meeting to mobilise activists for future rallies in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Henry Leach (L), talks with his granddaughters and his friend Clarence Christian (R) at his family's Ms. Girlees's Soul Food Restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 26, 2018. Leach, who participated in the strike 50 years ago, said King came to the city for justice, not violence. "He came to help us get what we wanted. Like I tell you, he became like a father to us," the former sanitation worker said recently. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Side dishes including (clockwise from top right) cabbage, sweet potatoes, collared greens, rice, beans and macaroni-and-cheese are ready to be served at Ms. Girlee's Soul Food Restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 29, 2018. The restaurant is owned by Henry Leach and his family. Leach, who participated in the strike 50 years ago, said Martin Luther King came to the city for justice, not violence. "He came to help us get what we wanted. Like I tell you, he became like a father to us," the former sanitation worker said recently. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Activist Sweet Willie Wine looks through papers near his framed "Memphis Invaders" (a black power group) jacket in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 29, 2018. After spending time in prison as a young man, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. inspired Wine to dedicate his life to the Civil Rights movement. He was three blocks away from the Lorraine Motel when King was killed on April 4, 1968. "On Friday, April the 5th, his body was at Lewis' Funeral Home. Something said to me, "Get up and go down to Lewis's Funeral Home," said Wine. "I went in and over him I said, 'Dr. King, I'm gonna make them pay.' That's when I made my commitment. That was fifty years ago, and I've not turned around since." REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Words are seen on the facade of Archie Hurt's house in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 29, 2018. Hurt, who regards Martin Luther King Jr. as a prophet, has been painting parts of Biblical scripture interspersed with his thoughts on religion, politics and current events on the front of his house for ten years and twenty years before that when it was his brother's house. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
The base of a statue to Nathan Bedford Forrest, a founder of the Ku Klux Klan, stands in a park in Memphis, Tennessee. In December 2017 activists forced a removal of the statue from his gravesite. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
A marker on a street corner in the Soulsville neighbourhood marks the spot of the People's Grocery lynching of African-American proprietors Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell and Will Stewart in 1892, which spurred Ida B. Wells in her crusade against lynching, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
A cotton-themed mural decorates a building in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
By Kia Johnson

By Kia Johnson MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Reuters) - A half century ago, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. came to Memphis to march in support of the city's striking sanitation workers. It was the last trip the Baptist minister turned civil rights leader would make in the name of social justice. On April 4, 1968, the day before the march was to begin, King, 39, was fatally shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel by an avowed segregationist. A month earlier, King led the sanitation workers in a march through the Tennessee city that erupted in violent clashes. Even so, he vowed to return for a second march, convinced that the strikers would prevail in what he saw as a fight for economic justice. King's commitment made a deep impression on the strikers. Henry Leach, who participated in the strike 50 years ago, said King came to the city for justice, not violence. "He came to help us get what we wanted. Like I tell you, he became like a father to us," Leach, a former sanitation worker who participated in the strike 50 years ago, said recently. The evening before the second march, the Nobel Peace Prize winner delivered his famous "I've Been to the Mountaintop" sermon at a local church. Michael Halloway, a Memphis sanitation worker, said he believed that King would have mixed feelings about the current state of U.S. race relations. "It makes me very sad because you know he came here to fight for the rights for us," he said. "It's getting better and better now, but it's got a long way to go," Halloway said. (Reporting by Kia Johnson; Writing by Suzannah Gonzales; Editing by Richard Chang)