Introduction
Martin Luther King is often regarded as one of the most courageous leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in the history of the USA. In his book on Martin King’s struggle, Thomas Jackson (2013) mentions that according to King, the economic justice of the country can not be separated from racial equality. Therefore, he developed the radical interracial tradition in the U.S. However, Martin King’s ideas were never favored by the government that denied the idea of Afro-Americans being bound up with the destiny of white Americans (4).
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated in his room in Lorraine Motel. According to the police reports, his shooter’s name was James Earl Ray. In 1969, Ray was sentenced to spending 99 years in prison. The story, however, is still shaded with mysterious facts. There is some evidence that Martin Luther King was long prosecuted by the FBI members before being killed. In 1993, Loyd Jowers, who worked in Lorraine motel, confessed that “he had hired someone other than James Earl Ray to assassinate Dr. Martin Luther King” (“Loyd Jowers, 73, Who Claimed A Role in the Killing of Dr. King” par.1). As a result of further investigations on the issue, one of the most ill-fated conspiracy theories in the history of the U.S. was revealed. According to the verdict that was delivered by the Shelby Court in 1999, Jowers and some government representatives were the parties to the conspiracy (Chernus par. 5). Therefore, the scandalous conspiracy theory stopped its existence as an assumption, and eventually became a fact.
The Evidence of the Governmental Conspiracy
A consistent account of facts and evidence was compiled by David Garrow, who held research on the involvement of the FBI and the U.S. government in the case. According to the results of this investigation, the first issue that raises suspicions is that most of the materials, which were gathered on Martin Luther King by the FBI were flowing from a single human informant. This fact in itself contradicts the principles of the FBI’s work and testifies that Martin Luther King was an object of surveillance for the federal structure.
Secondly, the involvement of the Freedom of Information Act Department of the U.S. is evident regarding this case. It was reported that the Bureau allowed the department to make some consistent deletions of materials that were gathered by the FBI agent. The Bureau motivated this order by its relationship to the national defense (Garrow 4).
The role of James Earl Ray, in this case, serves as one more prompt for suspicions. The major reason for that is that the evidence that was used in court to convict this man was quite doubtful. Even though Ray’s fingerprints were found on a pair of binoculars and the rifle, there was some evidence of the influence that was made upon him before the assassination. First of all, after the trial, James Ray claimed that he was guided by a character whose name was Raul. According to Ray, Raul was the one who ordered him to buy a rifle and to check in a particular room. At the time of the investigation, no Raul was found. However, in 1994, there appeared evidence of a real existence of Raul whom Ray had previously recognized in the photo. Moreover, in 1998, one of the retired FBI employees confessed that he had found some pieces of paper with the name “Raul” in Ray’s car in 1968 (Brunner par. 1).
Thus, the shaded tactics that were adopted by the major governmental structures of the U.S. serve as evidence supporting the reliability of the conspiracy theory.
Seeking for Justice: What Allows the USA to Sustain Global Conspiracies
Martin Luther King was a person who inspired thousands of people to fight for their rights legally and intelligently. His “I Have a Dream” speech became a hymn of deprivation and violation, an encouragement for those who were the victims of racial inequality. In contrast to it, in the first part of the 20th century, the U.S. government viewed Afro-American citizens in a way that differed from the one adopted by King. The violent policy reactions and numerous imprisonments were a direct response of the government to any strikes and demonstrations that were held by people, who represented a minority in the country. Thus, an intelligent and inspiring representative of the Afro-Americans became an obstacle for America while it could no longer depict colored people as the dregs of the population. This is the reason that explains why the American government was strongly motivated to eliminate Martin Luther King as a potential threat.
The question of what allows America to sustain such outrageous crimes arises at this stage. Surprisingly, the most vivid coverage for the USA in this respect is the reputation of the country as the most democratic and impartial mechanism in the whole world. America created a myth for its population, according to which the government of the USA always acts correctly. Thus, even the decisions about murders seem the only wise decisions for the devoted Americans. This theory, however, is a contradiction in itself, while it ruins the very foundation of the government’s principles and violates fundamental human rights.
The Outcomes of the King’s Assassination Conspiracy
Even though the USA always exposes its rules and decisions as to the most lawful ones, the assassination of Martin Luther King that, brought many mournful consequences to the American citizens. First of all, only in many years after King’s murder, the population of the U.S. realized that the activist became a victim of his beliefs, while he was genuinely devoted to the American democracy and was assassinated by its founders. Second, the conspiracy theory brings us to a conclusion that James Ray had been unfairly sentenced to 99 years in prison. Unfortunately, taking into consideration a vast range of similar cases, the example of James Ray is only one in a million proof of injustice that rules the American legal system. Finally, the assassination of Martin Luther King initiated a profound breach between the white and black society in the U.S. It radicalized several Afro-American activists and prompted the growth of the Black Panther Society (“Martin Luther King Jr Assassination” par. 7).
Thus, the U.S. conspiracies often become the reason for the rifts that arise among the Americans. The problem of pretentious democracy gains global recognition today. Finally, people get conscious of the fact that it is a direct responsibility of any citizen to act in compliance with human rights, and not with the doubtful politics that is dictated to us from the government’s side.
Works Cited
Brunner, Borgna. King Conspiracy Theories. 2012. Web.
Chernus, Ira. The Conspiracy to Kill Martin Luther King Jr: Not a Theory But a Fact, According to Our Own Legal System. 2014. Web.
Garrow, David. The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr.: From “Solo” to Memphis, Brooklyn: Open Road Media, 2015. Print.
Jackson, Thomas. From Civil Rights to Human Rights: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Struggle for Economic Justice, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013. Print.
Loyd Jowers, 73, Who Claimed A Role in the Killing of Dr. King 2000. Web.
Martin Luther King Jr Assassination 2010. Web.