Riots
Did either Farmer or Carmichael cite White America as responsible for Dr. King's death?
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Colleagues of Dr. King in the civil rights movement called for a non-violent response to the assassination, to honor his most deeply held beliefs. James Farmer, Jr. said:The more militant Stokely Carmichael, however, called for more forceful action, saying:"White America killed Dr. King last night. She made a whole lot easier for a whole lot of black people today. There no longer needs to be intellectual discussions, black people know that they have to get guns. White America will live to cry that she killed Dr. King last night. It would have been better if she had killed Rap Brown and/or Stokely Carmichael, but when she killed Dr. King, she lost. "Despite the urging of many leaders, the assassination led to a nationwide wave of riots in more than 100 cities. After the assassination, the city of Memphis quickly settled the strike on favorable terms to the sanitation workers.