Organizers expect hundreds of thousands of people to attend events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. At 6:01 p.m. — the exact moment when King was shot — a bronze church bell perched on a scaffold above the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., where King was killed, will toll 39 times — once for each year of King's life.
People carrying signs with the “I Am A Man†slogan from the 1968 sanitation workers strike gather for a rally on Beale Street in Memphis, Tenn., part of the observance of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
(Rick Musacchio / EPA / Shutterstock)
People get ready to march in Memphis, Tenn., in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
(Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images)
Marchers gather at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C., to walk to a prayer service on the National Mall to mark the 50th anniversary of King’s assassination.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
Milton A. Williams, left, pastor of Pennsylvania Avenue AME Zion Church in Baltimore, and Ruth LaToison Ifill join others at the A.C.T. to End Racism rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
(Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)
On Tuesday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson pauses on the balcony outside room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. It was the spot where he was standing when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 50 years ago.
(Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
A member of the Atlanta Braves staff wears a patch marking the 50th anniversary of the death of civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals in Atlanta.
(John Bazemore / Associated Press)
Julie Kenny, of Sheffield, England, listens to a recorded speech of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. play in the sanctuary of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where King preached, on the 50th anniversary of his assassination.
(David Goldman / Associated Press)