#RolandMartinUnfiltered Presents: “April 4, 1968”

Bernice King, MLK's youngest daughter, recounts her confusing childhood memories of her father's funeral, where his voice was played but he couldn't speak. She describes a cycle of 'hating, anger' and a lifelong struggle with anger due to the unprocessed trauma of her father's assassination, followed by the mysterious death of her uncle and grandmother within six years. Her mother, Coretta Scott King, focused the children on service, which delayed their emotional processing into adulthood.

Bernice King's recollection of the funeral, hearing her father's voice, and her mother's explanation (03:11); her fear for her mother's safety (07:30); the subsequent deaths of her uncle and grandmother (09:31); her cycle of anger and delayed processing (11:13).

Several close associates of Dr. King, including Jim Lawson and others, describe an immediate pivot to 'work mode' after his assassination. They felt there was no time to grieve, as the movement needed direction, people needed to be mobilized, and further violence had to be prevented. Personal mourning was often delayed for months, sometimes until July or August, as the urgency of the cause superseded individual sorrow.

Jim Lawson's statement of 'went back to work' and not grieving until July (26:00); another speaker's doctor advising rest after two weeks of continuous work (27:00); the need to mobilize 1300 men and address young people (01:20:41); the outpouring of support and continued commitment to the march (01:22:18).

Zernona Clayton, a close associate, details Robert Kennedy's unique and practical response to Coretta Scott King after MLK's death. While others offered generic condolences, Kennedy immediately arranged for nine additional telephone lines to be installed at the King residence, dispatched a private plane to Memphis to retrieve MLK's body, secured hotel rooms in Atlanta for dignitaries, and sent a team to set up an office to manage the logistics of the funeral and aftermath. This proactive support stemmed from his own experience with assassination.

Robert Kennedy's phone call to Mrs. King, arranging telephone lines, a plane to Memphis, and hotel rooms (53:43); his team setting up an office to govern things (55:37); the recognition that 'he had been through it' (55:53).

Clarence Jones, MLK's lawyer and speechwriter, firmly believes that James Earl Ray, while likely the trigger-man, did not act alone. He asserts that MLK's assassination was a 'cold, calculated, premeditated conspiracy,' possibly involving figures like the Hunt brothers in Texas. Jones shared this conviction with former FBI Director James Comey, who, while not confirming, did not dismiss the idea, and notably kept a memo authorizing MLK's wiretapping on his desk as a reminder of past FBI misconduct.

Clarence Jones's belief that James Ray pulled the trigger but did not act alone (01:38:30); his assertion of a 'cold, calculated, premeditated conspiracy' (01:39:02); his conversation with James Comey and Comey's display of the wiretapping memo (01:40:22).