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But King never got an opportunity to put his anti-poverty plans into action.
On April 4, 1968, a single bullet shot by a sniper entered King's neck, killing him on the spot. He was standing on the balcony of Lorraine Hotel just off Beale Street with the Reverend Jesse Jackson and the Reverend Ralph Abernathy.
His death set off a wave of violence in major cities across the country.
Here, King lies in state as his colleagues (left to right) Andrew Young, Bernard Lee, and Abernathy pay their respects on April 8, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.