This image shows Martin Luther King Jr’s aides shielding him as protesters throw rocks

This article is more than one year old.
Published on October 30, 2020 at 16:19
3 min read
By Amanuel NEGUEDE, AFP Ethiopia

An image of Martin Luther King Jr has been making the rounds on Facebook alongside claims it shows him being beaten by “American security forces”. The claim is false: the image shows aides protecting the famous civil rights activist as protesters in Chicago threw rocks at him in 1966.

The post, archived here, has been shared more than 500 times on a Facebook group called Pan-African Daily TV and has racked up more than 600 likes since it was published on October 18, 2020.

“Rare photo of American security forces beating late Martin Luther King Jr, also referred to as MLK on 5th August 1966,” it reads.

Below the caption is an image of King bent over while two men appear to be pushing him down.

Screenshot of the misleading claim on Facebook, taken on October 27, 2020

Users commenting below the post reacted with anger and sadness. “So sad. He was a legendary leader,” reads one comment in part.

King attacked during housing march

But AFP Fact Check found that although the date mentioned in the claim is correct, the caption attributed to the picture describing the scene is false.

AFP Fact Check traced the image to the online archives of the Chicago Tribune newspaper, where it had this caption: “The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. tries to regain his footing after being hit by a stone during an open housing march Aug. 5, 1966, but aides prevent him from rising to protect against further attacks.”

The Chicago Tribune image has been widely used in US media, including in this story by the LA Times.

On August 5, 1966, King organised a march through Marquette Park in Chicago to denounce racial inequalities in housing. King and demonstrators planned to reach a housing office nearby when they were ambushed by 700 white protesters.

A riot quickly broke out and at least 30 people were injured, “some by a hail of bricks and bottles”, the Chicago Tribune wrote in this 2016 story marking the 50th anniversary of the incident.

King was one of the injured demonstrators.

“The blow knocked King to one knee and he thrust out an arm to break the fall,” the paper reported. “He remained in this kneeling position, head bent, for a few seconds until his head cleared.”

Footage of incident

A search on YouTube using keywords “1966”, “housing march” and “Martin Luther King” revealed a short clip of the riot. At 24 seconds into the video, a man dressed in a plaid shirt can be seen walking next to King. The same patterned shirt is also noticeable on the white man in the Facebook post.

A YouTube frame taken on October 29, 2020, showing King's aides walking beside him (L), and the same man in a plaid shirt visible in the image shared in the false Facebook post (R)

A search on the Getty Images website also revealed other pictures taken on the same day shortly after King received the blow to the head. The man in the plaid shirt, an aide of King’s, again is seen in the picture walking beside him.

Screenshot of the picture of King found on the Getty Images website, taken on October 29, 2020

The caption confirms the picture was taken during a housing discrimination protest led by King and which was disrupted by “spectators” throwing projectiles.

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