<aside> ⭐ The assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis, on April 4, 1968, can be seen as a significant event within the civil rights movement, representing the struggles of promoting non-violence and more specifically, a turning point in protest strategies.

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• As a figurehead of non-violent rights movements under the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King’s death represented the extent of white animosity towards black Americans.
• More specifically, the killing represented the pinnacle of increased racial tensions in the early 1968, with the summer yielding the greatest amounts of rioting rioting, looting and burning than any time across America since the civil war.
• This new tension could be seen in the Orangeburg massacre in February 1968, which saw the deaths of 3 college students, but also included the rise of retaliatory black movements including Black Panthers and the Black power movement.

Impact on Political dynamics of the US:

King’s death held practical significance in changing government policy. President Lyndon Baines Johnson pushed through a new Civil Rights Act (1968) which allowed for much stronger equality measures including an equal housing clause, specifically preventing discrimination in the sale, renting and financing of households. However, to suggest that King’s assassination was an immensely significant point in changing laws would be incorrect. Lyndon B Johnson had already passed much civil rights legislation in the years prior, including the Civil rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights act (1965), both of which had large impacts in reducing discrimination and inequality in America.

Impact on Methods of Civil right movement:

Finally, the assassination of King was somewhat significant in marking a change in methods of African-American protest. King was long a proponent of non-violence: his death saw the partial continuation of these values in the short term with a silent march held in Memphis with over 40,000 attendees and the 'poor people campaign' was continued. However, his death sparked largescale protests, known as the Holy Week Uprising, in approximately 100 cities in the United States, resulting in the deaths of 43 people. In the months to come, retaliatory values in protest would become increasingly common, especially under Stokely Carmichael and increasingly large size of the Black Panther movement.