Keeping the peace for Martin Luther King, Jr.

The country rioted after Martin Luther King's death. But in Atlanta, a respectful peace reigned.

King's family in procession.
(Image credit: The Associated Press)
Lauren Hansen
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published
(Image credit: Mourners pay their respects to Martin Luther King, Jr., at the R.S. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home in Memphis.)

(Image credit: King's casket is loaded onto an airplane, chartered by Robert Kennedy for Coretta Scott King, who traveled to Memphis to accompany her late husband's casket home to Atlanta.)

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Jack Thornell)King's funeral was held on April 9, 1968, five days after his death. Until then, the reverend was laid in state at the Sisters Chapel at Spelman College in Atlanta. Te)

(Image credit: The private funeral service at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King had been a pastor.)

(Image credit: (Everett Collection/Newscom)A packed private service was held at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King and his father had served as pastors. King's longtime friend Rev. Ralph Abernathy bega)

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi))

(Keystone Pictures USA / Alamy Stock Photo)King's coffin was transferred to a wooden mule-drawn wagon, which called to mind royal funerals with their horse-drawn coaches. But King's version was chosen specifically for being so worn down and rugged — representative of the grounded work and people King lived and died for. The wagon, followed by King's family, friends, and fellow civil rights leaders, walked the four-mile route from the church to the campus of Morehouse College, King's alma mater. An estimated 150,000 people fanned out behind them in a solemn processional. Thousands more lined the streets to watch the coffin pass. Though the crowd occasionally broke out into song, the afternoon was remarkably quiet and peaceful, with just the sound of feet on pavement filling the air.

(Image credit: The Associated Press)

(AP Photo)

(Image credit: (Keystone/Getty Images))

(Image credit: (AP Photo)At Morehouse, Benjamin Mays, the college's former president and King's one-time teacher, gave a moving eulogy to his friend."If we love Martin Luther King Jr., and respect him, as t)

(Image credit: (Keystone Pictures USA / Alamy Stock Photo))

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Henry Griffin)For more on the tense days after Martin Luther King's death and a behind-the-scenes look at his memorials in Atlanta, read this moving oral history from those who live)

Lauren Hansen
Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.

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