Porkins Policy Radio episode 87 MLK Assassination 49 Years Later with Doug Valentine
Doug Valentine joins me to discuss the 49th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. We begin by discussing Doug’s involvement with the King families civil case against alleged co-conspirator Loyd Jowers. Doug talks about how and why he was hired by King family lawyer William Pepper and the aspects that he was tasked with investigating. Doug discusses his time in Memphis interviewing witnesses to the crime, some of whom had never been questioned by police. Doug also describes the bigger meaning behind Kings murder, and how it represented the everyday murder of black Americans through out the country. We then move on to some of the specifics of the case itself. Doug and I explore some of the core pieces of evidence that point to a larger government conspiracy. Doug talks about Loyd Jowers and his connection with alleged assassin James Earl Ray, as well as how Ray was able to flee the country and travel around on fake passports. Doug describes how the Memphis police detail guarding King was removed and how at least one undercover police officer, Marrell McCollough, was inserted into the King entourage. Doug also goes into detail about the allegations that US Army personnel were stationed in the near by firehouse in order to film the assassination. Doug also touches on mafia involvement in the assassination, and the links this has to the CIA. We finish off the first hour by talking about the importance of the 1999 civil trial against Loyd Jowers. Doug and I talk about the significance of a jury being able to come to the conclusion that the government was capable of conspiring to murder Martin Luther King.
In the second hour I talk about a few more intriguing aspects of the King assassination. I talk about Reverend Billy Kyles bizarre Freudian slip in which he appears to admit foreknowledge of the murder. And I also elaborate on Marrell McCollough and the fact that he later worked for the CIA. I finish off the episode by discussing King’s greatest and most controversial speech, Beyond Vietnam. I talk about the significance of King’s assassination taking place on the one year anniversary of Beyond Vietnam. I also talk about King’s message that poverty, racism, materialism, and militarism are all intrinsically linked to one another. I finish off by discussing how the media has white-washed the legacy and radicalism of Martin Luther King.
Show Notes:
Who Killed Martin Luther King?
Deconstructing Kowalski
Reverend Billy Kyles Freudian Slip
King Conspiracy Theories Still Thrive 40 Years Later
Beyond Vietnam Speech
