Was Martin Luther King Jr. killed by the government? It’s a misconception to think that the orders were directly from the president, but it is true that the U.S. military and the Memphis Police Department were found guilty of conspiring with the mafia in MLK’s death.

On April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. was shot from his motel balcony in Memphis Tennessee by James Earl Ray, right? Well, four decades later the world found out that isn’t all that happened. Since 1968 and to this day, William F. Pepper has fought to reveal what actually happened that fateful day. With the King family by Pepper's side, they badgered every person they thought might know something until finally, the truth came out. A government agency and the mafia had conspired in MLK Jr.'s death. When I tell people this, a lot of them believe it's just a conspiracy theory, but that is not true. I am just trying to do what the media should have done, and that is speaking about what happened on December 8, 1999 and all the events leading up to it. Because, if the media won’t talk about it, somebody should.

We begin with why the King family and especially Coretta King (MLK Jr’s wife) and Dexter Scott King (MLK's son) believed there to be a conspiracy behind his death. Three months and four days after Mr. King was killed, Scotland Yard investigators found James Earl Ray in an airport in London and concluded to arrest him. James later confessed during interrogation that he "was trying to fly to Belgium, with the eventual goal... of reaching Rhodesia... (now called Zimbabwe) was at the time ruled by an oppressive and internationally condemned white minority government.” When he was arrested James kept saying that he was being played and that there was a conspiracy to kill Mr. King. Most people disregarded this, but it definitely raised an eyebrow for the King family.

On March 10, 1969, James went in front of a judge in Memphis, Tennessee. To escape the electric chair he pleaded guilty to murdering Mr. King and was instead sentenced to 99 years in prison. Three days after the case, James attempted to repeal his guilty plea and claimed that there was a larger conspiracy at hand. James said a man named Raoul hired him to kill MLK in 1967, but every time he talked about this “bigger conspiracy,” it just looked like he was trying to save his own skin. 18 days after James's trial, on March 28, Dexter King went to the prison to have a face-to-face meeting with James. After meeting with James, the King family publicly stated that they believed James was innocent and the conspiracy theory happening in the woodwork. With the help of William Pepper, they were able to uncover enough evidence to go to court against someone new in 1999. And on December 8, 1999, Pepper's case proved that "Martin Luther King was murdered in a conspiracy that was instigated by the FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and that also involved the U.S. military, the Memphis Police Department, and “Dixie Mafia” crime figures in Memphis, Tennessee."

You may ask now, why are they not in prison and why haven't I heard about this before? Well, to start off, the King family was suing J. Edgar Hoover when it was only just found that the military and Memphis police were both involved, too. When the Kings won the case, they received a mere 100 dollars, which is absolutely crazy! I mean they just found out that people who have vowed to protect the lives of every American had just conspired to kill their family member, yet the court compensated them with some pocket money instead of the justice of holding the guilty accountable. The media has also played a corrupt role in adhering to their own agenda and ignoring this issue. American textbooks and news outlets have both glossed over how the military and police have conspired to murder the nonviolent civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. It's appalling and a serious concern.

And if so, then why wasn’t James Earl Ray freed from prison? Well, the thing is, he did shoot MLK Jr. He just wasn’t the sole person to conspire in the killing, and that's important to note. Because while I am not a professor nor am I always right, I believe that thorough research can help us better understand a more whole truth of really happened to Martin Luther King Jr., and not just the packaged textbook "truth" the government distributes and upon which media outlets feed and regurgitate. I also want to open your eyes to one last thing. Whenever you are told something, ask yourself three questions about it. Who wrote the story? Who benefits from the story? And who is missing from the story? The answers to these questions will bring you closer to a more realistic truth, freer of the biased information we are given.

This year’s theme for the 32nd MLK celebration is also in honor of it becoming a national holiday and it being the 50th anniversary of his death. This time is meant to highlight the importance of addressing social injustices in "an honest and thought-provoking way," as some colleges advocate. Although I sadly cannot attend, I will virtually and wholeheartedly be supporting their theme for this year. It is very important that we continue to fight for social justice today. As a wise man once said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." And by the looks of it, the MLK Celebration Planning Committee of students aren’t anywhere near ready to let our lives end.