Martin Luther King saved by a white man

What if the circumstances of MLK's assassination had been somewhat different, and as his would-be assassin was lining up to take his shot at him, a white individual who just happened to be passing him at that time managed to see the glint of his rifle and suddenly leaped in front of King, foiling the shot.

The assassin panics at this sight and flees without trying again, and the man hit is taken to the hospital where he later dies of his wound. What is the impact of this?
 
Dr. King was on a motel balcony when shot. Somebody would have had to emerge from a room or hallway (maybe a union organizer from Chicago to help with the sanitation worker's rally) and run with the message "get down, I see a gun!"

The immediate impact: better security around Martin Luther King.
 
It would disarm Malcolm X for sure. During the period when Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam were preaching their war between blacks and whites, it was inconceivable to see the opposite race as anything but an enemy. If a white man had managed to take the bullet for King, it would have completely disarmed Malcolm, his supports, and NoI.
 
I don't know what this would cause. I suspect that the assassination of MLK was not a simple act of hatred but a deep conspiracy--and I'd suspect that J. Edgar Hoover, who saw red all over the civil rights movement, had at least foreknowledge that this was going to happen, if not outright involvement.

If we move with the idea that killing MLK is not something that's easily done, then the result is that the powers behind the assassination make a second attempt on his life. A second throw is going to have serious consequences for the conspirators even if it succeeds perfectly.

The odder part of this whole situation is that to this day we do not know who killed MLK--and if this went to pieces you'd see a massive scandal.

There were a lot of assassinations in the 1960s. I wonder if this could butterfly RFK's assassination as well...
 

Xen

Banned
It would disarm Malcolm X for sure. During the period when Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam were preaching their war between blacks and whites, it was inconceivable to see the opposite race as anything but an enemy. If a white man had managed to take the bullet for King, it would have completely disarmed Malcolm, his supports, and NoI.

No it wouldnt! Malacolm X at this time wasn't saying a word about anything, not hard to do for a man who has been dead for over 3 years, and prior to that he was softening his views on the situation so, er no. NOI maybe, Malcolm X no
 
For some reason I would think conspiracy theories would rise out of this (maybe not at the time it took place, but maybe several decades after)
 
Having a white martyr for the cause lends the issue of civil rights a point of identification and sympathy in mainstream white society. The legislation certainly goes ahead and maybe the Dixiecrats filibuster for a few hours less, or simply walk out.

MLK gets to live longer and probably turns more to anti-war demonstrations and women's rights. The African American population stays semi-radicalized for longer.

Black communities remain intact and aren't burned down in the riots. I'm looking out my back window right now and I can tell you H Street in DC certainly never recovered from that.

And just for the fun of stretching possibilities, on the radical front, maybe more concrete dialogue between SDS and the Black Panthers? Bring the latter in from the cold?
 
Having a white martyr for the cause lends the issue of civil rights a point of identification and sympathy in mainstream white society. The legislation certainly goes ahead and maybe the Dixiecrats filibuster for a few hours less, or simply walk out.

Considering that most of the landmark Civil rights legislation had already been passed in 64 and 65 and that Affirmative Action had already started, there wasn't much for the Dixiecrats to object to and filibuster after Aprtil 4th, 1968. The Civil Rights Act of 1968 was law a week after King was killed. How much faster do you want?

Torqumada
 
I don't know what this would cause. I suspect that the assassination of MLK was not a simple act of hatred but a deep conspiracy--and I'd suspect that J. Edgar Hoover, who saw red all over the civil rights movement, had at least foreknowledge that this was going to happen, if not outright involvement.

If we move with the idea that killing MLK is not something that's easily done, then the result is that the powers behind the assassination make a second attempt on his life. A second throw is going to have serious consequences for the conspirators even if it succeeds perfectly.

The odder part of this whole situation is that to this day we do not know who killed MLK--and if this went to pieces you'd see a massive scandal.

There were a lot of assassinations in the 1960s. I wonder if this could butterfly RFK's assassination as well...
Please, a Cross-Eyed Monkey could've Made that Shot ...

James Earl Ray was Crouched in a Bath-Tub 87 Yards Away from The Hotel, And STILL Missed The So-Called Sniper's Triangle of The Fore-Head to The Clavicles ...

Contrast this to The Shots Fired from 264 Yards Away at Kennedy and Connally, by Lee Harvey Oswald, And you'll See How a Difference of Three Times The Distance can Impact on The Required Skill of The Sniper-to-be!

:eek:
Considering that most of the landmark Civil rights legislation had already been passed in 64 and 65 and that Affirmative Action had already started, there wasn't much for the Dixiecrats to object to and filibuster after Aprtil 4th, 1968. The Civil Rights Act of 1968 was law a week after King was killed. How much faster do you want?

Torqumada
The Day After, :p ...

In All Seriousness, though ...

King's Autopsy Revealed he had a Heart More Suited to a 60 Year-Old; his Days were Quite Possibly Numbered, Barring Other Injury he Most Likely would've WORKED himself to Death within 5 Years of The Assassination Attempt!
 
Please, a Cross-Eyed Monkey could've Made that Shot ...

James Earl Ray was Crouched in a Bath-Tub 87 Yards Away from The Hotel, And STILL Missed The So-Called Sniper's Triangle of The Fore-Head to The Clavicles ...

Contrast this to The Shots Fired from 264 Yards Away at Kennedy and Connally, by Lee Harvey Oswald, And you'll See How a Difference of Three Times The Distance can Impact on The Required Skill of The Sniper-to-be!

:eek:

That's just it though; we don't know that Ray actually even did it. The Wikipedia page shows that the King family successfully sued someone else for "wrongful death". Ray could well have been a patsy.

I think the best point of evidence I have on this thought is that people have later claimed involvement--the wiki page has quite a lot to say on this topic and it seems to lean against the simplistic "Ray is a single lunatic" idea.

And with a PoD that a white man takes the hit for King--well, this might force law enforcement to crack down on the attempt. I wonder if this crackdown would save RFK...
 
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