Reaction to the MLK Assassination

April 4 marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.  The event spawned protests and riots nationwide.  Shortly after news of the assassination reached Raleigh, Shaw University students began a march that was broken up by city police and the National Guard.  There were reports of shooting in the city, and a few buildings were burned.  The mayor imposed a curfew

On April 7, a group of white faculty members and students from NC State, as well as from Chapel Hill and Durham, formed on the Brickyard, intending to start a march against racism. They disbanded after encountering the police near Winston Hall and hearing pleas from Chancellor John Caldwell, but many made their way to the North Carolina State House, where they delivered a petition to a representative of Governor Dan K. Moore. An April 8 Technician article by Bob Spann described the gathering as "Quiet, Calm, Frustrating."  Later that day some from this group attended a memorial service honoring King that was held at Raleigh's Memorial Auditorium. The marchers published their petition in the April 8 issue of the Technician outlining their desires to "spur the white community to constructive action" following King's death, with specific demands to Governor Moore and the state legislature for improving racial equity in North Carolina. 

Read more about reaction to the assassination on the NC State campus and in Raleigh in these issues of the Technician:

5 April 1968

8 April 1968