Who was the only reporter present when the visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement was assassinated?
Earl Caldwell (journalist) Earl Caldwell (born c. 1935) is an American journalist. He documented the Black Panthers from the inside in the 1970s, and became embroiled in a key U.S. Supreme Court decision clarifying reporters' rights. The case started when the FBI tried to press Caldwell to be an informant against the Black Panther Party. He worked for "The New York Times", "New York Daily News", "The New York Amsterdam News" and is currently on the radio in New York City. His career as a journalist spans more than four decades. He witnessed and chronicled some of the most important civil rights events from the 1960s onwards and was the only reporter present when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Caldwell is a founding member of the steering committee of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, as well as the Washington-based Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. In 2009 he was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame.
Robert Charles riots The Robert Charles riots of July 24-27, 1900 in New Orleans, Louisiana were sparked after African American laborer Robert Charles fatally shot a white police officer and escaped arrest. A large manhunt for him ensued, and a white mob started rioting, attacking blacks throughout the city. The manhunt for Charles began after an altercation involving Charles, his roommate, and several New Orleans police officers on Monday, July 23, 1900, and ended when Charles was killed on Friday, July 27. A total of 28 people were killed in the riots, including Charles, shot by a special police volunteer. Other white men in the mob shot hundreds of bullets into his body and beat him beyond recognition. More than 50 people were wounded in the riots, including at least 11 who had to be hospitalized. Blacks made up most of the fatalities and casualties.