THE LAWYER TAKES HER SEAT AS THE
CONFIDENT DISTRICT ATTORNEY QUICKLY CONFERS WITH HIS ASSISTANTS.
BAILIFF
All rise! The court is in
session.
THE JUDGE COMES IN.
JUDGE
You may call your next witness.
DEFENSE LAWYER
While this inquiry centers on who
killed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., why he was killed is also
important. This happened during a climate where men
expressed their disagreement through violence and murder.
In a sense, we are all participants in that horrible act that
tarnishes the image of our nation. In 1961, hatred had
become a popular pastime. It was a climate that murdered
Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, John and Robert Kennedy. All
struck down in the prime of their lives. My next witness
saw first hand the slaying of another of America’s prophets.
The defense calls upon Rev. Andrew Young.
photograph of
rev. ANDREW young and Dr. Martin luther king is shown.
When did you first meet Dr. King?
Andrew Young
In 1961 in Memphis during the
struggle to pass the voting rights act. I was with him
until he was laid to rest on April 9, 1968. Once the
voting act was passed in 1965 and the busses had become
desegregated, we set our sights on the lunch counters. We
would stage sit-ins at Woolworth and Richs. In those days,
the department stores had these...these lunch counters.
But for whites only. You could shop there and spend your
money there, but the blacks were not allowed to eat there.
Therefore, the students, inspired by the progress of the
non-violent movement began sit-ins. They would sit at the
counters until they were served or arrested. The latter
was the norm. When Dr. King joined the sit-ins, it
captured the nation’s attention.
THE SCENE IS
RE-ENACTED. THE STUDENTS ARE HECKLED AND FINALLY ARRESTED.
Andrew Young
Then we began boycotting the stores
that refused to serve us. We marched, we were arrested, we
went quietly, we were beaten, we prayed, we were hosed and
attacked by dogs.
images of
these atrocities are projected on the large screens facing the
audience
The police ware trained to deal with
violence. They were not trained to deal with our
non-violent means of confrontation. When those hoses were
turned on and those dogs were set loose on those children and
America saw those pictures of itself, it had a profound impact
on the citizens of this country. It was a rude awakening
to see unarmed people being brutalized for sitting at a lunch
counter.
video footage
is shown as andrew young narrates.
We have noticed how the government is
quick to pull out the constitution when it is trying to get you,
but also quick to hide it when it comes to living up to its
promises towards all its citizens of color. But when these
pictures were displayed to the world the government intervened
on our behalf. In 1964, the Civil Rights Bill was passed
by Congress and signed by the President. And on August 6,
1965, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law.
The Americans of African descent had won another fundamental law
guaranteed by the constitution. Dr. Martin Luther King’s
struggle had achieved his last great success. From this
time forward he would broaden his focus to include issues of
poverty, employment and peace in the U.S. and the world.
At the same time all this was happening the country was involved
in the controversial war in Vietnam. The Negroes had no
right to use the same facilities that whites had, but eighty
percent of the body bags coming back from Vietnam were our black
brothers. They were dying first defending a country that
considered them second-class citizens. Dr. King felt that
the United States of America was spending all its resources
fighting a war oversees when in its backyard its own people,
blacks and whites, were living in poverty. Martin begins
to say things privately like "the bombs we drop in Vietnam will
explode at home in inflation and unemployment." "The money
that ought to be going to the cities is being blown up in
Vietnam." Against our advice and that of other religious
leaders, he gave what I've considered his most eloquent speech.
Everyone who knows Dr. King remembers the "I have a Dream"
speech or the "Promised Land" speech. But this, this was
the best. It was his most passionate. He spoke from
his soul at the Riverside Church in Manhattan. On April 4,
1967, he gave the best speech I have ever heard.
the stage dims
as dr. king approaches the podium and delivers his speech against
the war in vietnam.
SPEECH
AGAINST THE WAR IN VIETNAM
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
April 4, 1967
Manhattan, New York
I
oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America. For those
who say to me stick to civil rights; I have another answer, that is
that I have fought too long and too hard now against segregation in
public accommodations to end up segregating my moral concerns.
I am not going to do that. Others can do what they want to do.
That's their business. If other civil rights leaders for
various reasons, refuse or can't take a stand or have to go along
with the administration, that's their business. But I must say
tonight that I know justice is indivisible. Injustice anywhere
is a threat to justice everywhere.
Andrew Young
One year to the day after that
speech, Dr. King was shot dead. Even though the government
wanted Dr. King removed, I have always felt that after that
speech, they put in motion the plans to eliminate him.
Defense Lawyer
No more questions Your Honor.
SHE RETURNS TO HER
SEAT.
Judge
The prosecution may cross-examine.
District
Attorney
You seem to be convinced that it was
the government that orchestrated the conspiracy that brought
about the untimely death of Mr. King.
Andrew Young
There is no doubt in my mind.
District
Attorney
You said that King was killed because
of that speech he made against the war in Vietnam.
Andrew Young
I believe so. He also threw
himself into the development of the Poor People’s Campaign.
Dr. King said we would never be free until we controlled our
economic destiny. That movement would bring together in
Washington several hundred thousand Blacks, Hispanics, American
Indians and poor whites from all over the country. The
Poor People’s Campaign was another cross to bear. This
combination of opposition to the war and a call for the
redistribution of the nation's wealth served to increase Dr.
King’s unpopularity with the government.
District
Attorney
It also antagonized segments of the
black community; the church and his supporters didn’t it?
I recall once while in Harlem he was attacked by a group of
black militants.
Andrew Young
Yes. The press, some of his
followers and even other black ministers urged him to stick to
civil rights. But Dr. King equated the atrocities that
were being committed against the Vietnamese to the atrocities he
had seen in the cities of Memphis and Selma. In hindsight,
Dr. King was right about the war in Vietnam, the government was
wrong.
District
Attorney
Did you or did you not accept a high
profile job as Ambassador of the United States, from that same
government?
Andrew Young
Yes.
District
Attorney
And at the same time, you deserted a
post entrusted to you by the popular vote of the black
community, Mayor of the city of Atlanta. This vote that
was bestowed on you by the Civil Rights Act that you and these
others were marching and rioting about. So, when you think
of the assassination all you see is Uncle Sam. When I
think of your involvement after the assassination all I see is
Uncle Tom...
THE AUDIENCE
REACTS AS THE JUDGE HAMMERS HIS GAVEL AS THE DEFENSE COUNCIL STANDS.
Defense Lawyer
Objection Your Honor council is
badgering the witness!
Judge
Silence in the court.
Counselor, proceed with caution.
District
Attorney
What was Mr. King doing in Memphis?
Andrew Young
He came to give support to a garbage
collectors' strike. We urged him not to go because we were
planning this Poor People’s Campaign march in Washington.
We were behind in the preparations and there was no time to get
involved in a strike. But Dr. King felt differently.
These were the poor people we were talking about. So, we
went to Memphis.
District
Attorney
Then let's assume for a moment, just
for the sake of argument, that the government was conspiring to
assassinate Mr. King. You have testified that the
decisions that brought Mr. King to Memphis were his decisions.
I have another theory about a single individual who has grown
tired of all the civil disobedience caused by Mr. King begins to
stalks his every move. We have evidence that supports
this. A laundry bill dated March 27 places James Earl Ray
in Atlanta a few blocks from his church. A motel receipt
places James Earl Ray in Memphis just days before the shooting.
Eyewitnesses place James Earl Ray in Memphis on the day of the
fatal shooting. He knows where King is at all times
because after every speech the flamboyant Mr. King tells
everybody where he is headed next.
VIDEO CLIPS OF
KING ANNOUNCING HIS NEXT VISIT TO MEMPHIS IS PLAYED. NEWSPAPER
WITH KINGS ARRIVAL TO MEMPHIS IS DISPLAYED.
Anybody could have known where King
was. In fact, Mr. King entertained several visitors that
day including a makeshift choir who came to serenade him.
PORTIONS OF
THAT VIDEO ARE PLAYED.
Isn’t it possible that if school
children could find King? That a grown man with a
financial incentive could have done the same?
Andrew Young
I guess it is possible.
District
Attorney
One more thing Ambassador Tom.
Do you have any physical evidence that links the U.S. Government
to the death of Mr. King?
Andrew Young
No, I don’t.
District
Attorney
No further questions Your Honor the
witness may step down.
Judge
Defense attorney.
Defense Lawyer
It is also possible that the
government influenced some of the decisions that were made in
Memphis. The government used these provocateurs to disrupt
the first peaceful demonstration in Memphis in an effort to
discredit Dr. King. I present exhibit “E”. They were in
Memphis on March 28 when the disturbances started which resulted
with the death of a young girl.
hands the
judge the exhibit.
Rev. Young, why did you switch hotels
in Memphis?
Andrew Young
When we returned there was a
newspaper article in the Commercial Appeal, a Memphis newspaper,
stating that while Dr. King was supporting the black garbage
collectors' strike during the day he was sleeping in a
white-owned hotel at night. The article mentioned that he
was too good to stay in the Black owned Lorraine Motel in
downtown Memphis.
Defense Lawyer
Exhibit "F" Your Honor, a FBI letter leaked to the press
referring to King's accommodations at the Holiday Inn in
Memphis.
hands the
judge the exhibit.
Who chose room 306 facing the open
balcony for Mr. King?
Andrew Young
We don’t know. We had registered him in room 202 on the
bottom floor. It was more secluded and it faced the inner
court.
Defense Lawyer
Exhibit "G" Your Honor. A sworn
affidavit by Mr. Walter Bailey, owner of the Lorraine Motel.
It states that he had arranged for Dr. King to stay in room 202.
His wife later received a call from someone claiming to be a
staff member in Atlanta requesting the move to room 306.
After the shooting she, who had been diagnosed in perfect health
by her doctor the week before, suffered a stroke after the
shooting, and died the day Dr. King was buried.
hands the
judge the exhibit
Who greeted Dr. King at the airport?
Andrew Young
We did.
Defense Lawyer
Anything unusual?
Andrew Young
Well, on our previous trips to
Memphis Dr. King had around-the-clock protection by six black
officers. That day six white officers met us at the
airport then suddenly left. We were informed once again
that someone from our team had requested their removal. We
later found out that was not true.
Defense Lawyer
Exhibit "H" Your Honor from the
District Attorney ’s transcripts, the orders from the Memphis
Chief of Police Frank Holloman to remove King’s security headed
by black officers on April 3rd and 4th.
hands the
judge the exhibit.
And Exhibit "I" the removal of
Detective Redditt from surveillance detail on April 4th
and the transfer of the only two black firemen in the area,
Newsom and Wallace, on the day of the shooting. James Earl
Ray could not have arranged all these circumstances.
hands the
judge the exhibit.
One more question Rev. Young.
Did Dr. King suspect that his life was in danger?
Andrew Young
Yes. He knew. The death
threats were more frequent but so was his resolve. If you
listen to the change in tone in his speeches, you will see him
preparing us for his untimely departure. Two months before
his death on February 4th at Ebenezer Baptist Church,
he gave a sermon called the drum major instinct. It was
his eulogy.
The stage
darkens as Dr. King approaches the podium.
THE DRUM MAJOR INSTINCT
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
February 4, 1968
Atlanta, Georgia
If any of you are around, when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a
long funeral. And if you get someone to deliver the eulogy,
tell them not to talk too long... then my living will not be
in vain" Yes, if you want to say I was a drum mayor, say I was a
drum mayor for Justice...
Defense Lawyer
No more questions Your Honor.
Judge
The witness may step down. Your
next witness counselor.
SCENE 2: CORETTA SCOTT
KING THE MAN
THE LAWYER THANKS ANDREW YOUNG AND
PROCEEDS TO THE CENTER OF THE COURTROOM.
Defense Lawyer
Less than a lifetime after the end of
slavery Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta on January
15, 1929. By the age of 14, he had moved quickly through
school, skipping both the ninth and twelfth grades and entered
Morehouse College, an all-black institution. Before he
graduated from college he had chosen his life’s work and was
ordained a minister when he was just 18. King began
studies in theology in Boston University where he obtained his
Ph.D. at the age of 26. While in Boston he met a young
singer who had moved from the south in search of a better
education. The defense calls on
Coretta Scott King.
she approaches
the witness stand.
We all have a sense of the public Dr.
King. Describe the private man.
Coretta Scott
King
Husband, father with an insatiable
thirst for justice. He drained his closest friends, Ralph,
Andy, Jesse, Lewis and Harry for advice. He prayed
intensively for guidance. None of his detractors could be
as ruthless questioning his motives as he was to himself.
He forbade his own organization to reproduce his picture.
He did not want to be idolized; he only wanted to be heard.
And that’s all he ever did. That’s why though stilled
through death, Martin lives. In only twelve years of
public life, he was stoned, stabbed, reviled and spat upon.
He died as he lived fighting for his last breath for justice.
Some of the most agonizing experiences Martin had in the whole
struggle of the nonviolent movement came during the Mississippi
march. For the first time his closest associates
questioned his approach to non-violence. Even when there
were reservations about his tactics, the respect people had for
his personal bravery and honesty was a shield. In all his
years of activity in close proximity to millions, no black
person ever laid a hand on Martin. The sole exception was
the clinically insane woman who stabbed him in Harlem in 1957.
That incident, even though it almost cost him his life, did not
waiver his determination. The only time I remember he was
concerned about his own safety was when he came back from
Chicago. The whites wanted to kill him.
the stage
DARKENS, as the scene is reenacted. coretta leaves the witness
chair and walks INTO HER kitchen. Martin is in the living room
out of sight. he narrates the incident to coretta.
I always believed that if anything
went wrong I would always have Martin. I could see for the first
time... the fear in him.
Martin Luther
King Jr. (v.O.)
They were throwing so many rocks and
things that I could see the policemen ducking. Then I just
gave up. I was afraid that I yielded to the real
possibility of the inevitability of death.
Coretta Scott
King
Two minutes later, after talking
about fearing his own death, Martin tells me he has to go to
Memphis. To help with the garbage collectors' strike. I
told Martin that with the poor People’s Campaign running behind
schedule, we had no time for Memphis. And Martin said
"What better example of struggle than the garbage workers of
Memphis". This was the embodiment of passion for a cause.
I closed my eyes, and wondered, last night in Chicago I came so
close to losing him. I could only think how much I loved
this man and how I would die if something would ever happen to
him. Next thing I knew he was in Memphis.
CORETTA SINGS
AND IS JOINED WITH THE CAST OF SANITATION WORKERS WHO DISPLAY
PLACECARDS THAT READ, “I AM A MAN”.
I AM A MAN
Lyrics and music by BASIA TRZETRZELEWSKA
CORETTA
SCOTT KING
When I look
around, it makes me wonder
Am I worthy of
the most amazing life that I have been given
Did not care
before but now I’m older
I see things
in a different light
My grateful
thoughts I raise to heaven.
Thank you
for letting me dream and hope
Thank you
for this man who's been always true
And I
don’t know that I am lucky to be this strong
'Cause
some of us are weak
If they
only knew
Oh if they
knew...
When I walk the streets
IT makes me wonder
Am i deserving
of the most amazing life
that I have
been given
all the
cardboard boxes are much colder
and when i
watch our children grow
my grateful
thoughts I raise to heaven
guide me and
help me to carry on
i don't have
to ask 'cause you always seen
me through
I am eternally
thankful for what i have
and if
anything goes wrong
then i still
have you
i still have
you?
sanitation
workers
I am a man! I am a man
I see things
in a different light
My grateful
thoughts I raise to heaven.
Thank you for letting me dream and hope
Thank you for this man who's been always true
And I
don’t know that I am lucky to be this strong
GLASS IS HEARd
BREAKING IN THE BACKGROUND, THE POLICE MOVE IN and DISPERSE the
marchers who flee the scene.
Coretta Scott
King
A peaceful demonstration had been
officially disrupted.
Defense Lawyer
Were you shocked at all when Rev.
Jesse Jackson called you the night of April 4 to tell you that
Martin had been shot?
Coretta Scott
King
No. In 1965, Martin was
arrested in Selma and placed in jail for 14 days. This was
in February. Malcolm X came to visit me. I was
impressed by his obvious intelligence and he seemed quite gentle
when he said to me, "Will you tell Dr. King that I had planned
to visit with him in jail? But I have to go to New York"
He wanted Martin to know that he had not come to Selma to make
his job more difficult. He was off to New York and
eighteen days later, Malcolm X was killed. His death
affected me profoundly. Perhaps because I just met him.
Perhaps because I had begun to understand him and his movement
better. Perhaps because I knew this would also happen to
Martin.
Defense Lawyer
No more questions Your Honor.
Judge
Does the District Attorney wish to
cross-examine?
District
Attorney
I don’t see why I should. Your
Honor if I may... so far nothing these witnesses have said
proves anything. All the defense has is a handful of sworn
affidavits but no physical proof linking the U.S. Government to
Mr. King's death. Officially disrupted...? One
woman’s opinion is not proof of a conspiracy. Listen
woman, the facts and evidence point to one killer, James Earl
Ray.
The stage
darkens once AGAIN, as the District Attorney recreates the scene in
memphis based on evidence in the case.
It has been documented that Ray had
been following your husband since March 22 when he was in Selma.
When King went to New York, he went to Birmingham Alabama and
paid $248.59 in cash for a Remington Gamemaster rifle. Ray
returns to Atlanta the night of March 30. So does Mr. King.
The rifle is
placed on the defense table after it is shown to the grand jury.
On April 1, Ray learns about Mr.
King’s trip to Memphis like everybody else did, through the
public announcement by the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference. He was scheduled to lead a new march on Friday
April 5.
the newspaper
is displayed and tossed on the defense table.
Ray left for Memphis on the same day
King flew into the city, April 3. King arrived in Memphis
at 10:33 am. It was a seven-hour drive for James Earl Ray
and on the way; he purchased a Gillette shaving kit at the
Rexall drugstore in Whitehaven, Tennessee.
the shaving
kit is placed on the defense table.
He pulled into the New Rebel Motel at
3466 Lamar Avenue in Memphis. It is believed that here he
placed a call to his brother Jerry and told him about the
assassination.
Motel RECEIPT
is displayed and placed on the defense table.
The next morning April 4, Ray checked
out of the motel, bought a local newspaper, the Commercial
Appeal. The front-page cover story was none other than
Martin Luther King's visit to Memphis.
the newspaper
is placed on the defense table.
Ray had breakfast and spent the early
afternoon at a beer house. He drove to South Main Street
and parked his white Mustang near the rooming house across from
the Lorraine Motel.
Photo of the
rooming house is displayed on the large screen. the evidence
photo is placed on his desk.
At 3:15, he asks for and gets room 5B
in the back using the alias John Willard. He visits the
nearby York Arms Company where he bought a pair of binoculars
from Ralph Carpenter. He returned to the room at 4:15.
From his room window, he could see the balcony at the Lorraine
Motel.
Photo
is displayed for the grand Jury.
Notice the chair and table have been
moved towards the window. Approximately 5:36 Ray left his
room and locked himself in the bathroom facing the balcony.
Ray’s palm print was found on the bathroom wall.
places the
photo of the palm print on his desk.
Dr. King and his associates were
preparing to go to dinner at Rev. Kyle's house.
The scene is
recreated. Dr. King is LYING on the bed. JESSE JACKSON,
REV. RALPH ABERNATHY, ACCOMPANIES HIM when Andrew Young comes in.
Martin Luther
King Jr.
We have been waiting for your call
all day. Why haven’t you called?
Andrew Young
I have been in court all day trying
to lift this injunction so the march can proceed on Friday.
Martin Luther
King Jr.
So why didn’t you call?
Andrew Young
That doesn’t matter now. The
injunction has been lifted. We can march.
Martin Luther
King Jr.
What do you mean it doesn’t matter?
When I ask you to call, you call.
Throws a
pillow at Andy.
Do you forget who is running this
show?
Tosses another
pillow.
How many times to we have to teach
Andy how things are done in the south.
Another pillow
is tossed.
Andrew Young
I got the injunction lifted. We
can march. Didn’t anybody hear me?
Martin Luther
King Jr.
Obviously, you haven’t heard me.
tosses another
pillow at andy who THROWS it back and a childish pillow fight begins
between the leaders of the civil rights movement.
O.K. Andy. I was just kidding.
Good job.
A knock on the
door is heard. Martin Luther King opens the door.
Rev. billy
kyles
Ready Doc.
Ralph
Abernathy
Alright now Billy. I don’t want
you fooling me tonight. Are we going to have soul food?
Now if we get over there and get some filet mignon or T-bone,
you are going to flunk.
Martin Luther
King Jr.
Yeah, we don’t want it to be like
that preacher’s house we went to in Atlanta, that great big
house. We... had ham, a ham bone and there was no meat on
it. We had Kool-Aid and it wasn’t even sweet.
Rev. billy
kyles
You just get ready. You’re
late. Hurry up let’s go.
Martin Luther
King Jr.
Who took my tie?
Billy kyles
hands him a tie and puts it on. They notice his shirt is too
tight.
Rev. billy
kyles
Oh doctor, you are getting too fat!
the ASSEMBLED
group laughs.
Martin Luther
King Jr.
I'm doing that.
They all step
out of the room followed by Andrew young and the other MEMBERS of
the king party. Jesse Jackson and andrew young walk down the
stairs as ralph abernathy waits on king. Dr. King exits the
room leaving the door HALF OPEN. HE lights a cigarette then leans on
the balcony railing and says to ben Price down below.
Please play Precious Lord on the
organ tonight. Play it nice and pretty for me.
Solomon jones
Doc you better put on a topcoat.
It’s going to be chilly tonight sir.
Martin Luther
King Jr.
O.K. I’ll do that.
As martin
prepares to return to his ROOM, the shot is fired from across the
street. The impact rocks him back leaving his feet hanging
from the railing. Everything moves in slow motion as the D.A.
narrates. the onlookers below duck. Andy and Jesse rush
up the stairs Marrell McCollough kneels by the body and checks kings
vital signs. Billy kyles takes the BEDSPREAD from the room and
covers the wound on dr. kings neck. Police begin to swarm the
parking lot.
pOLICEMAN
Where did the shot come from?
they all point
across the street. joseph Preston Louw comes out of room 309
and snaps a photo of the fallen king. The stage darkens once
more as a woman is heard screaming.
District
Attorney
Ray leaves the bathroom returning to his room to pick up his
belongings. He places the items in this blue canvas bag.
As he hurries down the steps and out the motel, he spots a
police car parked at the fire station. James Earl Ray
panics and drops the bundle at the entrance of the Canipe’s
Amusement store. The owner sees him as he jumps in his
white Mustang. Within minutes of the shooting, Ray had
left the scene of the assassination and was headed back to
Atlanta.
Walks towards
the defense table.
This is what was found in the bag.
The rifle purchased days earlier by James Earl Ray, the
newspaper purchased by Ray that morning, the binoculars, a
Gillette travel kit, and other personal items including a radio.
The radio had an etching blurred out on the side, which turned
out to be Ray’s Missouri Penitentiary inmate number. The
Mustang was found five days later; near the motel Ray occupied
in Atlanta, wiped clean of fingerprints. In that motel, a
map with Ray's fingerprints was found where he had circled the
location of Mr. King’s home and church. This is the
physical evidence that links James Earl Ray to the shooting in
Memphis. What do you have to say to that Mrs. King?
Coretta Scott
King
I accuse
the government of the United States of using violence to
silence...
District
Attorney
Listen here woman! You wanted
evidence of who killed your husband; it’s here, all here!
You can take them off the God damned plantation and they are
still cotton-picking nigg..
Coretta Scott
King
Listen here man! I have watched
you all night just drag Martin through the mud and lynch him
again just because he wanted to get a drink of water from the
same fountain you did, or use the same restroom, or get a decent
meal. And this is all you have to show me?
District
Attorney
This is all the court requires.
Evidence, hard concrete evidence. Not suspicion or rumors.
Thirty-five years have gone by, what physical evidence do you
have that links the U.S. Government to the death of your
husband? What do you have Mrs. King?
the District
Attorney turns and returns to his table. Coretta reaches into
her purse and slowly pulls out a worn piece of paper with faded
edges that have cracked and yellowed over the years.
Coretta Scott
King
King, in view of your low grade, I
will not dignify your name with either a Mr. or a Reverend or a
Dr....
District
Attorney
Objection Your Honor and I motion for
a mistrial!
Defense Lawyer
On what grounds?
District
Attorney
Your Honor, you cannot admit this
document.
JUDGE
You asked the witness for evidence
and she has provided you with it. Counselor, you opened
that can of worms. And if this is what I think it is, I
will allow it.
Coretta Scott
King
Yes, it is Your Honor. This is
a death threat the FBI delivered to Martin.
District
Attorney
Your Honor you cannot let this woman
just whip out a letter from her purse, say it’s authentic, and
then allow her to read it in open court. Furthermore, the
people do not have a copy of this document.
coretta pulls
out a copy from her purse. the BAILIFF DELIVERS it to the d.a.
Coretta Scott
King
There's also a Kinko's on Auburn
Avenue. We know they make copies there, black people own
it.
District
Attorney
Objection!
Judge
Objection overruled. This is
not a trial but a grand jury evidentiary hearing where all
relevant information in the case can be presented regardless of
its source.
Defense Lawyer
Any evidence legally obtained is
admissible; second semester basic law. You should know
this! Where did you get your degree?
District
Attorney
I do not have this letter in my
glossary. Your Honor this is highly unethical... I
object its use in this trial.
Judge
Noted.
Coretta Scott
King
Now step back.
District
Attorney
Your Honor, who can tell me that this
document is authentic?
Coretta Scott
King
The United States Government wrote it
and I am sure they have a copy hidden in the classified sealed
transcripts. I kept the original in my bible for all these years
and I would like the opportunity to read the letter to you now.
a DEAFENING
silence sweeps the courtroom.
Judge
You may proceed.
The ATTORNEYS
take their seats as an EMOTIONAL mrs. KING reads the only piece of
evidence that directly links the government to the assassination of
dr. Martin luther king jr. the District Attorney hangs his head.
Coretta Scott
King
...King, look into your heart.
You know you are a complete fraud and a great liability to all
of us Negroes. You are no clergyman and you know it.
I repeat you are a colossal fraud and an evil vicious one at
that. You even at an early age have turned out to be not a
leader but a dissolute, abnormal moral imbecile. You are
done. Your honorary degrees, your Nobel Prize and other
awards will not save you. King I repeat you are done.
There is only one thing left for you to do. You know what
it is... You have just thirty-four days to do it. This
exact number has been selected for a specific reason; it has
definitely practical significance. There is but one way
out for you. You had better take it before your filthy
abnormal fraudulent self is bared to the nation.
District
Attorney
That letter means nothing! It
is the physical evidence on the table that decides this case.
the defense lawyer takes to the floor.
Defense Lawyer
Now that the court has physical
evidence that the government, our government, was orchestrating
the removal of Dr. King, I can explain how those items on the
table got there and how we believe the assassination was carried
out. On January 15, 1968, Dr. King celebrated his
thirty-ninth and last birthday by giving himself to the people.
His friends and colleagues surprised him with a cake.
a short film
clip is displayed of the event.
Later that month Dr. King decides to
stage a march on Washington D.C. with the country’s poor.
That combined with his opposition to the war in Vietnam began to
spin the wheels of an organized campaign to discredit him.
King is monitored around the clock. J. Edgar Hoover had
bugged his phones since 1963. Robert Kennedy, the then
Attorney general agreed to a 30-day wiretap to prove to congress
that communist had not infiltrated the Civil Rights Movement.
When the thirty days expired so did the life of Robert’s
brother, John F. Kennedy in Dallas. Hoover does not go
back to Robert Kennedy for an extension of the wiretap but
conceals it all together. Government physical and
technical surveillance on Dr. King leads the FBI to write this
letter to blackmail Dr. King to commit suicide, claiming they
had damaging information on his character. King ignores
the letter. When the garbage collectors go on strike and
King decides to go to Memphis, the stage is set.
SCENE 3: JESSE JACKSON
THE PLOT
THE STAGE IS
DIMMED AS THE DEFENSE LAWYER TAKES CENTER STAGE.
Let’s go back a couple of days when
Dr. King announces that he is returning to Memphis.
the scene is
reenacted. the phone rings, Dr. King answers the phone.
Dr. King receives an anonymous phone
call asking him why he doesn’t stay in the black owned hotels
like the Lorraine Motel in downtown Memphis instead of the white
owned hotels that are not yet integrated. King instructs
his staff to change his reservations. He flies into
Memphis on April 3. Six white officers replace the black
security that had been with Dr. King on his previous trips.
A dark skinned man claiming to be from the SCLC staff walks into
the Lorraine Motel and changes Dr. King’s room from 202 to 306
on the second floor. Dr. King’s location at the Lorraine
Motel is placed on the teletype and leaked to the press.
That night Dr. King is scheduled to speak at the Masonic Temple.
There is a terrible storm and he decides to stay in his hotel
room and rest. The defense calls Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Jesse Jackson
Rev. Ralph Abernathy and I decide to
go in Dr. King's place. When we got to the temple, and
they saw us arrive the crowds began applauding. They
thought Dr. King was behind us. Rev. Abernathy got on the
phone and called Dr. King.
Ralph
Abernathy
Doc. You better get over here.
These people did not come to hear me speak.
Jesse Jackson
Dr. King came to the church.
The world had almost missed the Mountaintop Speech. Rev.
Abernathy who was the guest speaker used his thirty minutes to
introduce the Civil Rights leader. This time, Martin took
no scripts to the podium.
as dr. king
approaches the podium the original speech is replayed on the
screens.
I'VE BEEN TO THE MOUNTAIN TOP
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
April 3, 1968
Masonic Temple, Memphis, Tennessee
I'm
delighted to see each of you here tonight in spite of a storm
warning. You reveal that you are determined to go on anyhow.
Something is happening in Memphis, something is happening in our
world. All we say to America is, "Be true to what you said on
paper." If I lived in China or even Russia, or any
totalitarian country, maybe I could understand the denial of certain
basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn't committed
themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the
freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of
speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of the press.
Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to
protest for right. And so just as I say, we aren't going to
let any injunction turn us around. We are going on.
ralph
abernathy
Then Doc began to preach the fear of
death out of him. It was like a cleansing. We had
never heard him speak this way. The whole speech was about
getting death behind him.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. (CONT.)
You know, several
years ago, I was in New York City autographing the first book that I
had written. And while sitting there autographing books, a
demented black woman came up. The only question I heard from
her was "Are you Martin Luther King?" And I was looking down
writing, and I said yes. And the next minute I felt something
beating on my chest. Before I knew it, I had been stabbed by
this demented woman. I was rushed to Harlem Hospital. It
was a dark Saturday afternoon. And that blade had gone
through, and the X-rays revealed that the tip of the blade was on
the edge of my aorta, the main artery. And once that's
punctured, you drown in your own blood--that's the end of you.
It came out in the New York Times the next morning, that if I had
sneezed, I would have died. Well, about four days later, they
allowed me, after the operation, after my chest had been opened, and
the blade had been taken out, to move around in the wheel chair in
the hospital. They allowed me to read some of the mail that
came in, and from all over the states, and the world, all kinds
letters came in. I read a few, but one of them I will never
forget. I had received one from the President and the
Vice-President. I've forgotten what those telegrams said.
I'd received a visit and a letter from the Governor of New York, but
I've forgotten what the letter said. But there was another
letter that came from a little girl, a young girl who was a student
at the White Plains High School. And I looked at that letter,
and I'll never forget it.
a
NINE-YEAR-OLD white girl appears on stage reading the letter.
It said simply, "Dear
Dr. King: I am a ninth-grade student at the Whites Plains High
School." She said, "While it should not matter, I would like
to mention that I am a white girl. I read in the paper of your
misfortune, and of your suffering. And I read that if you had
sneezed, you would have died. And I'm simply writing you to
say that I'm so happy that you didn't sneeze." Because if I had
sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1960, when students all
over the South started sitting-in at lunch counters. And I
knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for
the best in the American dream. And taking the whole nation
back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the
Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around in
1962, when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided to straighten their
backs up. And whenever men and women straighten their backs
up, they are going somewhere, because a man can't ride your back
unless it is bent. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been here
in 1963, when the black people of Birmingham, Alabama, aroused the
conscience of this nation, and brought into being the Civil Rights
Bill. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have had a chance later
that year, in August, to try to tell America about a dream that I
had had. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been down in Selma,
Alabama, to see the great movement there. If I had sneezed, I
wouldn't have been in Memphis to see a community rally around those
brothers and sisters who are suffering. I'm so happy that I
didn't sneeze.
And they were telling
me, now it doesn't matter now. It really doesn't matter what
happens now. I left Atlanta this morning, and as we got
started on the plane, there were six of us, the pilot said over the
public address system, "We are sorry for the delay, but we have Dr.
Martin Luther King on the plane. And to be sure that all of
the bags were checked, and to be sure that nothing would be wrong
with the plane, we had to check out everything carefully. And
we've had the plane protected and guarded all night." And then I got
into Memphis. And some began to say that threats, or talk
about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from
some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don't know what will
happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it
doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the
mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would
like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But
I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's
will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And
I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may
not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that
we, as a people will get to the Promised Land. And I'm happy,
tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing
any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the
Lord.
Jesse Jackson
Never had we heard Martin speak like
that. He literally dropped into my arms. Martin was
exhausted. He gave his whole to this speech. We
looked at each other wondering what had happened. In a
way, he prepared us for what was to come the next day. We
went back to the Lorraine Motel that night. No one talked
about the sermon. The next morning I remember Martin got
up late.
Defense Lawyer
On the morning of April 4, all
tactical units that would have prevented an assassin from
fleeing the scene including Kings security are pulled back.
The six white officers are told that King's staff has requested
their removal. Three rooms at the Lorraine including Dr.
King’s room, 306, had been bugged and the phones tapped.
Across the street at fire station 2, the only two black officers
were reassigned to other stations in Memphis. Police
escorted Edward Redditt, the black detective assigned to Dr.
King’s surveillance, home. James Earl Ray, who has
admitted to being in the area, is sent to run some errands.
He purchases the binoculars and rents the room at the Motel.
Around 4 p.m., Andrew Young returns to the Lorraine Motel, room
306. By that time, all security had been stripped away
from Dr. King's immediate area. When James returns, he is
given $200.00 and is told to go to the movies. He leaves
the Rebel motel around 5:20, grabs a bite to eat, and goes to
get his leaking tired repaired. With James out of the way
a sniper moves to the bush area across the street.
Meanwhile another person waits in room 5-B ready to take the
bundle down and plant it with all of James belongings including
the rifle. In the bathroom is the other accomplice with
the set of binoculars waiting for Dr. King to step out of his
room. Government surveillance teams are observed leaving
rapidly from rooms 315 and 316 around 5:50 p.m. when Reverend
Billy Kyles knocks on the door of room 306. Dr. King
stands outside on the railing and talks to those below for 10
minutes. At 6:01 p.m., the lookout in the motel bathroom
advises the sniper in the bushes of King’s location. The
single shot is fired. The bullet strikes Martin in the
side of the face. Dr. King falls where he had been
standing. The shooter drops the gun in the bush, scrambles
through the bushes and down the wall. He runs north and
jumps into a Memphis Police Department car and heads north.
Solomon Jones, Dr. King's chauffeur and others in the area
witness this. The rifle is later picked up by Lloyd Jowers,
owner of Jim's grill. Agent Marrell McCollough races up
the stairs and checks Dr. King for vital signs. The other
two agents leave the Rebel Motel dropping the bundle of James
possessions where they were found two minutes after the shot.
The first ambulance that arrives at the scene is turned away by
police because it was not a city ambulance. When the
second ambulance arrives, Dr. King is lifted in a stretcher and
taken to St. Preston’s Hospital.
Ralph
abernathy
At St. Preston’s, King was worked on
feverishly by a team of six doctors. The bullet had
penetrated the lower chin on the right side of his face.
It severed the spinal chord in both the lower neck, upper chest
and back region. Andy Young, Ralph Abernathy and the
others waited. When James Earl Ray returns to the motel he sees
all the commotion and decides to leave Memphis and go back to
Atlanta. Once he hears over the radio that Dr. King has
been killed, he understands his involvement in the assassination
and fears for his own life and decides to leave the country.
JESSE JACKSON
IS SEEN AT THE PHONE ON the SIDE OF THE STAGE AS CORETTA IS AT HOME
ON THE Opposite SIDE. THE PHONE RINGS.
Jesse Jackson
Coretta, Doc, Doc just got shot.
Coretta Scott
King
Oh my God!
Jesse Jackson
He is still alive. But he is
hurt pretty badly. I think you should come down now.
Coretta Scott
King
O.K. I will. O.K.
TV ANNOUNCES
the tragic news as dexter and bernice enter the room. The
scene DISSOLVES.
Ralph
abernathy
The only life function remaining was
King's heartbeat. Finally, that too ceased. Dr. King
was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. We prayed as his eyes
were closed.
Coretta Scott
King
We had rushed to the airport where I
was scheduled on the 8:25 p.m. flight when I was told that
Martin was dead. So I went back home to my children.
I flew to Memphis the next day and brought the body of my
husband back to Atlanta.
Andrew Young
The next morning the bushes across
from the Lorraine Motel from where the shot was fired were
ordered cut down.
John Lewis
I was with Robert Kennedy when he was
informed of the death of Martin Luther King.
Robert Kennedy
(V.O.)
I have bad news for you, and for all
our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the
world. And that is that Martin Luther King was shot and
killed tonight....
Ralph
abernathy
Every major city burned that night,
over 50 million dollars in damage.
John
Lewis
Forty-six people were killed.
Forty-one of them black. Exactly what Dr. King spoke out
against. A black man in Minneapolis enraged by King's
death, vowed to kill the first white man he saw. He left
his home and shot his white neighbor six times. This
rioting and rage was the language of frustrated people.
The only language they could speak to and be heard.
Kennedy flew to Atlanta and spoke with Coretta. Exactly
two months later he too was shot.
(YOUNG) Dexter
King
When is daddy coming back?
Coretta Scott
King
Dexter, you know your daddy was shot.
Dexter King
Yes.
CORETTA SCOTT
KING
He was hurt very
badly. I’ll tell you about it in the morning.
ALL AT ONCE
Words and Music by Michael Masser and Jeffrey Osborne
Performed by WHITNEY HOUSTON
CORETTA
SCOTT KING
ALL AT ONCE
I FINALLY TOOK A MOMENT
AND I'M REALIZING THAT,
YOU'RE NOT COMING BACK
AND IT FINALLY HIT ME ALL AT ONCE.
DEXTER KING
ALL AT ONCE
I STARTED COUNTING TEARDROPS
AND AT LEAST A MILLION FELL
MY EYES BEGAN TO SWELL
AND ALL MY DREAMS WERE SHATTERED
ALL AT ONCE
CORETTA
SCOTT KING
EVER SINCE I MET YOU
YOU're THE ONLY LOVE I've KNOWN
AND I CAN'T FORGET YOU
THOUGH I MUST FACE IT ALL ALONE
THE CASKET OF
MARTIN LUTHER KING IS SEEN LOADED ON A FLIGHT BOUND TO ATLANTA
CAST
ALL AT ONCE
I'M DRIFTING ON A LONELY Street
WISHING YOU'LL COME BACK TO ME
AND THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS NOW
ALL AT ONCE
I'M DRIFTING ON A LONELY Street
HOLDING ON TO MEMORIES
AND IT HURTS ME MORE THAN YOU KNOW
SO MUCH MORE THAN IT SHOWS
ALL AT ONCE
ROSA PARKS
ALL AT ONCE
I LOOKED AROUND AND
FOUND THAT YOU WERE ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP
IN THE PROMISED LAND
AND ALL MY DREAMS WERE SHATTERED
ALL AT ONCE
JOHN LEWIS
ALL AT ONCE
THE Speech THAT USED TO move ME
isn't heard so much today
tHEy TOOK YOUR SMILE AWAY
AND LEFT ME WITH JUST MEMORIES
ALL AT ONCE
yolanda king
EVER SINCE I MET YOU
YOU're THE ONLY LOVE I've KNOWN
AND I CAN'T FORGET YOU
THOUGH I MUST FACE IT ALL ALONE
CAST
ALL AT ONCE
I'M DRIFTING ON A LONELY Street
WISHING YOU'LL COME BACK TO ME
AND THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS NOW
ALL AT ONCE
I'M DRIFTING ON A LONELY STREET
HOLDING ON TO MEMORIES
AND IT HURTS ME MORE THAN YOU KNOW
SO MUCH MORE THAN IT SHOWS
ALL AT ONCE
ALL AT ONCE
I'M DRIFTING ON A LONELY STREET
WISHING YOU'LL COME BACK TO ME
AND IT HURTS ME MORE THAN YOU KNOW
SO MUCH MORE THAN IT SHOWS
ALL AT ONCE
AND THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS NOW
ALL AT ONCE
I'M DRIFTING ON A LONELY STREET
WISHING YOU'LL COME BACK TO ME
AND IT HURTS ME MORE THAN YOU KNOW
the NATION's
reaction to the death of dr. martin luther king is displayed.
FOOTAGE of the cities burning after the death of king is shown on
the large screens.
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