25 Powerful Photos Of America After MLK's Assassination

Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson, and others stand on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel and point in the direction of gunshots that killed Martin Luther King Jr., who lies at their feet, in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.

President Lyndon B. Johnson and advisers learn of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Morning newspapers in London are headlined with news of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 5, 1968.

Chicago streets ablaze from rioting following news of MLK's assassination.

A squad of police fire tear gas at a group of youths in Washington, DC, who were pelting the police with rocks.

National Guardsmen march in front of a Chicago store during the riots.

National Guardsmen detain three black men in Memphis following the imposition of a citywide curfew.

Chicago police officers patrol the city during the riots.

Storefront windows are left shattered after rioting and arson broke out in Washington, DC.

A National Guardsman stands watch in Washington, DC, near the ruins of a burned-out building.

The shell of a building is left smoldering after being destroyed by arsonists in Washington, DC.

Robert F. Kennedy visits the aftermath of riots in Washington, DC.

Jackie Kennedy leaves the home of Coretta Scott King after paying her respects to the widow of the slain civil rights leader.

The casket containing the body of Martin Luther King Jr. is removed from a plane and put into a hearse.

An unidentified woman watches the casket board a plane for transport to MLK's home in Atlanta, Georgia.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s family wait in a car on the day of his casket viewing. In the front is Dexter (right), 7, and Martin, 11. Behind them in the red coat is their sister Yolanda, 12, next to their mother, Coretta Scott King. To Coretta's left is the youngest daughter, Bernice, 5.

A mule-drawn wagon carrying the casket of Martin Luther King Jr. is followed by dignitaries and thousands of people as it moves en route to Morehouse College for a memorial service.

Coretta Scott King, on the arm of Ralph Abernathy, her husband's successor as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, leads a march of some 10,000 persons in a memorial march for the slain Dr. King.

Six men hang a sign in honor of MLK at an expressway bridge near King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference headquarters in Atlanta.

Thousands of mourners crowd the Ebenezer Baptist Church to pay respects.

An unidentified woman weeps at the R.S. Lewis and Sons Funeral Home in Memphis, Tennessee.

Students participate in a prayer for Martin Luther King Jr. at the Julia Ward Howe School in Boston on April 5, 1968.

Demonstrators picket in front of the White House. Two visible signs read "Let his death not be in vain" and "We have a dream."

A group of demonstrators holding signs reading "Union justice now," "Honor King: End racism!" and "I am a man" march in protest after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

A wreath is left on the outside door of room #306 of the Lorraine Motel, which Martin Luther King occupied before he was fatally shot as he leaned over a railing outside the room talking to friends.