Marker at airport to remember King’s final flight
A historical marker commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final flight to Memphis will be unveiled Monday at Memphis International Airport.
The 9 a.m. event is a kickoff for a yearlong observance leading up to the 50th anniversary of King’s death.
Former congressman, ambassador and King confidante Andrew Young will speak.
Young accompanied King on Eastern Airlines Flight 381, which brought the civil rights leader to Memphis from Atlanta on April 3, 1968.
King came to Memphis to advocate on behalf of striking sanitation workers. He was fatally shot the next day while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.
The historic marker, funded by First Tennessee Bank and approved by the Tennessee Historical Commission, will be in the airport’s B ticketing lobby.
Also participating in the unveiling will be John Hope Bryant, founder and chief executive of national nonprofit Operation HOPE, and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.
Young will be in Memphis filming the documentary “From Civil Rights to Silver Rights: Where Do We Go From Here — Chaos or Community? Continuing the Unfinished Work of the Poor People’s Campaign.”
Contact reporter Wayne Risher at 901529-2874 or wayne.risher@commercial appeal.com.