.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
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Locations: NE 33rd Avenue; NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.; N. Mississippi;
N. Lombard and other sites throughout the Portland Metro area.