BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — This Easter coincides with a dark day in American history.
Sunday marks 53 years since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The civil rights leader was shot and killed by James Earl Ray at the Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.
He was just 39 years old.
King was the pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, and spent much of his life advocating for equal rights for African Americans.
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a law making King's birthday a federal holiday, which is observed annually on the third Monday in January.
