On This Date In 1974
Mrs. Alberta King, the mother of Martin Luther King Junior was assassinated while playing the organ at Ebenezer Baptist Church by Marcus Wayne Chenault, a 23-year-old black man from Ohio.
Chenault stated that he shot King because "all Christians are my enemies," and claimed that he had decided that black ministers were a menace to black people.
He said his original target had been Martin Luther King, Sr., but he had decided to shoot his wife instead because she was close to him.
One of the church's deacons, Edward Boykin, was also killed in the attack, and a woman was wounded
