The Day MLK Died: LIFE's Forgotten Photos at the Lorraine Motel Unearthed
The Shooting of MLK: A Hidden History
On April 4, 1968, LIFE photographer Henry Groskinsky, on assignment in Alabama, learned that Martin Luther King, Jr. had been shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. He raced to the scene and incredibly obtained unfettered access to the hotel grounds, King's room, and the surrounding area. For reasons that have been lost in the intervening years, the photographs taken that night and the next day were never published. LIFE asked Groskinsky, now 77, to look back on that night 44 years ago and recall what it felt like to chronicle one of the most somber days in American history.
Henry Groskinsky/Time & Life Pictures.
King's Room
Stunned, silent members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in King's room, including Andrew Young, far left, under a table lamp, and civil rights leader Reverend Ralph Abernathy, seated in the middle on the far bed. "I was very discreet. I shot just enough to document what was going on. I didn't want to make a nuisance of myself. And right there, almost in the center of the picture, in the mirror you can see the reflection of me taking the picture. It's very somber, and there I am with a flash camera. So I took a couple of pictures and just kind of backed off."
Henry Groskinsky/Time & Life Pictures.
King's Briefcase, Room 306
King's neatly packed, monogrammed briefcase, still in his room. It's "just as it was. His brush. His pajamas. That's a can of shaving cream there on top. And you can see his book, Strength to Love, peeping from the pocket," Groskinsky recalls. He's also remembers how eerily quiet it was in the neighborhood around the motel. "I was surprised at how desolate it all was. But then, people probably thought that the person who shot Dr. King might still be out there somewhere."
Henry Groskinsky/Time & Life Pictures.
Consoling
Ralph Abernathy and Will D. Campbell, a longtime friend and civil rights activist, embrace in King's room. "I was documenting a momentous event, and I thought that at any time I was going to be asked to leave, so I did what I could as quickly as I could," Groskinsky says.
Henry Groskinsky/Time & Life Pictures.
Alone After King's Death
Baptist minister Will D. Campbell stands alone on the motel balcony. "When I saw him standing there, alone, I thought to myself, 'Wow.' This isn't a posed picture. He's in deep pain, standing there by himself, as if asking, 'My God, what has happened here?' " Groskinsky recalls.
Henry Groskinsky/Time & Life Pictures.
Where the Assassin Stood
On the right is the building from which James Earl Ray likely shot King. "It was a little scary crawling into the building," Groskinsky says about taking photos from the building next door, to the left, "because who knows who is going to be there? Who doesn't want you to be there?"