On June 30, 1974, Mrs. Alberta Williams King, the mother of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was shot and killed.The murder happened as she sat at the organ in the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Through an act of violence was ended a life that was totally nonviolent—a life that was thoroughly spiritual, that reflected love for all persons and unselfish service to humankind. Once more, the indomitable faith of the King family was tested, and again love prevailed amid sadness.
The Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr., struck by the violent deaths of his two sons and by the tragic death of his wife Alberta, said at her funeral service on July 3, “I cannot hate any man.”