The Burdens of Martyrdom
King's aides, from right, Andrew Young, Bernard Lee and Ralph Abernathy, lead the mourning of their slain leader.
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Martin Luther King: An Assassination Remembered
Martin Luther King: An Assassination Remembered
Multimedia
The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Four of the civil rights leader's closest aides recall the day of his death forty years ago
Exclusive TIME-LIFE Photos
Rare and unpublished images of the civil rights movement from LIFE photographers
More Stories
"I Have Seen The Promised Land"
Biographer Taylor Branch chronicles the untold story of the turbulent final days of Martin Luther King Jr.
The Burdens of Martyrdom
Viewpoint: Death distorted the true legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Why the turbulence of his life is what matters today
The Ghosts of Memphis
The gap between the brevity of King's life and its consequence is easy to state but hard to fathom
Transcendent Symbol - TIME (April 19, 1968)
Soon after his death, TIME took a look into the life of Martin Luther King and found who he was and how he came to be
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MLK: 40 Years Later
Martin Luther King's right hand men have moved on from April 4, 1968, but their experiences with him have taken them in several directions
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