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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2005)
.W B lack H istory M February 2. 2005 ,a ! o u e ra a e . onth PageA5 Black History Month Who Killed Dr. Martin Luther King? Assassination investigation called a cover-up J ohn E sther F or the P ortland O bserver Early morning, April 04,1968, a shot rang out in the Memphis sky and the legendary civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was dead. The man accused of murdering King was James Earl Ray. That was the official version and the FBI and local law enforcement were sticking to it. Now, in the spirit of King’s mantra that “Truth crushed to earth shall rise again," Rev. James Lawson and Mark Lane’s personal investigation into the assassination of King has been turned into a screenplay, “Slay the Dreamer.” Written by Lane and Donald Freed (“Secret Honor”), “Slay the Dreamer” is a thril ler mixing fictional characters with historical facts. The two lead roles in the script are a father and son composite of people who looked into the assas sination, Lawson told the Portland Observer. A screenplay for the production attempts to expose one of the great cover-ups in this nation. According to Lawson, “the assassination of King was never investigated.” A dear friend of King’s, Lawson, 75, intro duced Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non violent civil disobedience to King. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, King along with Lawson, Rev. Jesse Jackson and others lead effective non-violent protests against seg regation and integral miscarriages of justice our government was executing against people abroad and here at home, especially against blacks and other people of color. “To the day she died, Ms. Stevens never changed her story,” said Lawson. All the government really had as “evidence” was that Ray’s white Mustang was one of two white Mustangs located at the scene. The state also claimed Ray was a racist. “As black men, me and Ralph Abernathy know what a racist is,” said Lawson who met with Ray along with Abernathy. “And we con cluded that Ray was not.” Nonetheless, Ray confessed to the crime and there was no trial. Ray was sentenced to 99 years in prison where he died in 1998. (According to Lawson and others, when riots broke out in prison, black inmates would pro tect Ray because they feared an assassina avoiding doing the proper interviewing that any mur der investigation would require, much less one with national political implica tions. “A make-believe inves tigation was done,” said Lawson. According to the inves tigation conducted by Lawson and Lane - the attorney representing Ray - the government ignored neighbors who saw men on the scene going in the by The government went to work, framing James Earl Ray and avoiding doing the proper interviewing that any murder investigation would require. PHOTO BY J.C. M a TSVRRA opposite direction of the murder, used a known drunk nam ed C harlie Stevens (who was seen passed out just minutes before the murder) as the state’s chief witness, and provided “no evi dence” that Ray had committed the crime, said Lawson. When Grace Walden Stevens, a woman who saw the gunman, did not and would not identify Ray in a photo as the man she saw at the scene of the crime, she was committed to a mental hospital. tion attempt!) The screenplay has attracted actors includ ing Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jack- son in the past, but it has not garnered the attention that Lawson and his company had hoped. No feature film has yet chronicled the life or death of King. “Movies can help in the protracted struggle against the oppression carried out by the governm ent,” said Lawson. “They can help create a massive outcry against the savage assault on human life by our government.” John Ester is a writer from Los Angeles. Rev. James Lawson o f Los Angeles, a personal friend o f Dr. Martin Luther King, says authorities never investigated King's assassina tion. He 's a consultant in the screenplay “Slay the Dreamer. ” This made King an enemy of power and they were determined to stop him by any means necessary. The thinking was if they could kill President John E. Kennedy in 1963 and get away with it, who would care about some “uppity Negro” from the south, even if King was a Nobel Peace Prize recipient? After King was assassinated on that day, the government went to work, framing Ray and 7 e ’ a o /a u/i Legendary author celebrated at IFCC Providence Health System- Committed to diversity As one of Oregon's largest private employers, Providence Health System respects and values differences in our patients and employees. We've developed programs to support diverse needs and have been recognized as one of the best places to work in the state. At Providence, we honor diversity while sharing a common goal - making a difference in your health. One of the most prominent Afri can-American writers of our time, Zora Neale Hurston is a literary legend on equal footing with the most celebrated authors of the 20th century. In two special Storyteller/ events at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, local actors and community members will host a tea honoring Hurston’s vital contribution to American literature and African- American history. Audience members will be in vited to participate by enjoying Southern-style sweet tea and tea cakes and bringing theirown favor ite passages to share. The events are scheduled Sun day, Feb. 6 and Monday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. The theater is located at 5340 N. Interstate. Ave. Audiences are expected to be invigorated with some of H u rsto n ’s lesser known works as well as notable clas sics such as “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Em phasis will be placed on us ing her work to understand and appreciate early rural Southern black culture, the roots of many African Ameri cans living in the Portland community today. The IFCC Storyteller/ Readers Theater’s program Influential author Zora Neale Hurston brings theater to everyday will be honored at IFCC for her folks who do not believe contributions to black history. they would ever be able to perform, either because of a lack essarily embrace the experience of formal theater training, or the of live theater. inability to learn lines. Neverthe Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 less, they wish to be on stage for seniors and students, plus three bringing their love of the theater cans of food. For reservations, call to an audience that does not nec 503-823-4322. "Everything that is done in the world is done by hope." — Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968) It P rovidence Health System A caring difference you can feel Providence Portland Medical Center • Providence St. Vincent Medical Center Providence Milwaukie Hospital • Providence Newberg Hospital Providence Seaside Hospital • Providence Medford Medical Center Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital • Providence Health Plans Providence Resource Line 503-574-6595 • www.providence.org/oregon LifeWorks NW promotes a healthy community by providing quality and culturally responsive mental health and addiction services across the lifespan. L ife W orks N 2nd Most INTEGRATED HEALTH NEI WORK 2001 SMC, IHN H»0r O R T H Locations: NE 33rd Avenue; NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.; N. Mississippi; N. Lombard and other sites throughout the Portland Metro area.
