Mother King: In Memoriam

On June 30, 1974 Mrs. Alberta Williams King, mother of slain Civil Rights leader and activist, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was shot and killed during a Sunday morning church service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Ga. Mother King was at the organ playing “The Lord’s Prayer” when the shooting occurred. Deacon, Edward Boykin, was also killed in this violent attack.

The assailant, Marcus Wayne Chennault Jr., an African American from Dayton, Ohio, was later convicted and sentenced to death. That sentence was upheld for many years and later changed to life in prison at a state prison in Jackson, Georgia. On August 3, 1995, only two months after his sentence was changed to a life sentence, Chennault suffered a stroke, never regained consciousness and died. He was 44.  Although Mother King's death is rarely mentioned or remembered in the media, she must be remembered as not only a mother of one of the greatest leaders in the 20th Centurty, but for her supporting contribution to the civil rights struggle and the Kingdom of God.  Peace~

Sources: Blackfacts.org, Jet magazine, and The New York Times