The Life and Death of Martin Luther King
T1692155215
It is five troubled years since the words "I have a dream" shook Washington and the world. Martin Luther King stands on the balcony of a Memphis motel, exhausted and troubled. His liberal allies in government have deserted him for his opposition to Vietnam, his leadership of the Civil Rights movement is challenged by the radical followers of Malcolm X who accuse him of selling out to the white establishment, his own staff fear he has lost direction as he broadens his targets to include poverty itself, and above all his creed of non-violence is mocked and outflanked by extremists and those who simply see it as a form of surrender. Meanwhile the scheming Edgar Hoover of the FBI holds a dossier on his private life that might be released to the press any day now with heaven knows what effect on his reputation. And what is he doing in Memphis supporting a small time strike when he is needed in Washington to coordinate his nationwide campaign against poverty? Seconds after he reaches the balcony to take fresh air a shot rings out. Martin Luther King falls and dies in the arms of his friends. The greatest political visionary of the twentieth century lies dead.
Archive :: production:T1692155215, play:S01113087674, venue:V211
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