Special Features
- Further Reading: Related Books and Websites
- Bonus Video: Interview with Hampton Sides
- Preview: Roads to Memphis Preview
- Photo Gallery: The Manhunt for James Earl Ray
- Timeline: The 1968 Hunt for Martin Luther King's Killer
On April 4, 1968, escaped convict James Earl Ray shot and killed Dr. Martin Luther King. This is the fateful narrative of the killer and his prey, set against the seething, turbulent forces in American society at that time.
My American Experience
Share Your Story
Did you ever see Dr. King speak? Do you remember learning of his assassination? What impact have his life and teachings had on you?
Series Blog
Sides: Motivations of a Political Assassin
Author Hampton Sides, a frequent AMERICAN EXPERIENCE consultant and author of Hellhound on his Trail, on which our 2010 film Roads to Memphis was based, draws a parallel between the Arizona shooter Jared Loughner and the infamous MLK assassin James Earl Ray in a recent Newsweek article. "Though he spent his criminal career striving for anonymity, he desperately wanted the world to know he existed," wrote Sides. "Like a certain deranged young man in Tucson last week, Ray imagined the best way to leave his mark was the gun down someone young, eloquent, and charismatic."
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE has an exclusive interview with Hampton Sides talking about his memories of the MLK assassination and the character of James Earl Ray and his motivations for killing Dr. King.
Jesse Owens
His stunning triumph at the 1936 Olympic Games captivated the world even as it infuriated the Nazis. Premiering May 1.
Watch Online
The Abolitionists
How five abolitionist allies turned a despised fringe movement against chattel slavery into a force that literally changed the nation.
Watch Preview
We Shall Remain
The story of Native peoples’ valiant resistance to expulsion from their lands and the extinction of their culture.
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Roots of Resistance - The Story of the Underground
Men and women, black and white, risked their lives to carve an elaborate network of escape routes out of slavery.
Film Details
Eyes on the Prize
This acclaimed 14-hour series covers all of the major events of the civil rights movement from 1954-1985, tracing African Americans' struggle for equality and justice.
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Ida B. Wells - A Passion for Justice
An African American civil rights leader, Ida B. Wells was born into slavery before becoming a journalist in Memphis.
Film Details
Soundtrack for a Revolution
The story of the American civil rights movement is told through its powerful music -- the freedom songs that protesters sang on picket lines, in mass meetings, in police wagons, and in jail cells as they fought for justice and equality.
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George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire
The Alabama governor and presidential candidate promised segregation forever.
Film Details
