Life Magazine Martin Luther King photos taken the night of his assassination, April 4, 1968 have been released publicly for the first time. Find out more and see video here.

The 13 photographs were taken by Life magazine photographer Henry Groskinsky. He and reporter Mike Silva were on assignment in Alabama and rushed to Memphis when news reached them that King had been shot.

The photographs had never been published nor seen publicly. They were released on the magazine’s Web site on April 3, 2009, one day ahead of the 41st anniversary of the Martin Luther King, Jr assassination. King had been in Memphis, supporting black sanitation workers who had been on strike. He delivered his famous speech, ‘I’ve Been to the Mountaintop’ the night before his assassination. Had he lived he would have turned 80 this year.

All of the photographs can be seen here on the Life Magazine Web site.

In contrast, the photos in this post are familiar photographs, in the public domain and preserved by the U.S. Library of Congress.

The MLK assassination photos chronicle unfolding events in the aftermath, showing his associates, including Andrew Young and the late Rev. Ralph David Abernathy Sr. together in solemnity in the slain Martin Luther King Jr’s motel room, standing on the balcony where he was killed. There is also a photograph of the inside of King’s suitcase, as he had left it; a can of shaving cream top of clothing and the book he had been reading, Strength to Love. Another photograph, chillingly reveals workers cleaning up the blood.

Martin Luther King, Jr. with medallion he received from NYC Mayor Robert F. Wagner

Groskinsky was interviewed via phone at his home in Boca Raton, Florida and he said that he had he learned about a week ago that the Life Magazine Martin Luther King photos would be published on the magazine’s Web site. The 75-year-old Groskinsky does not own the rights to the photographs.

“It was a very sombre time and I felt like an intruder…I made only two or three snaps. I remember thinking this was a moment in history, that they were making decisions about how to go forward.”

Source: Newly released photos reveal aftermath of King’s assassination

According to The UK Guardian, the photographs were discovered when Life magazine partnered with Getty Images to place archival photographs online. Life.com editor Bill Shapiro is quoted as saying, “When I saw these plates my heart stopped because I knew what we had.”

In the interview, Groskinsky was asked about the MLK assassination photographs and why they were never published.

‘Once they got the famous photo’ of King’s associates pointing in the direction of the assassin, ‘that was it,’ Groskinsky said, referring to the widely circulated Associated Press photo.

He and Silva talked on the phone two days ago, trying to piece together the events of that tragic day.

“Neither one of us could remember anything after we left the room, where we stayed, what we did,” Groskinsky said.

The next day, they went back to the magazine’s New York offices.

“I turned in my film and went on to the next assignment,” Groskinsky said. “It was very disappointing they didn’t publish them, but in those days, we had no say.”

Source: Just-released photos show aftermath of MLK assassination

For more Martin Luther King Jr. pictures, see the Life Magazine archive on Google which contains 200 photos (including rare color photos from the 1963 March on Washington).

Photo source: United States Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

The video is below.

Here is Life Magazine Martin Luther King photos video report, with a profile and interview with the photographer, Henry Groskinsky.

Video Link

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Life Magazine Martin Luther King Photos: New MLK Assassination Photos (Video)

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