 Coretta Scott King at the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr., comforting their 5-year-old daughter, Bernice King. | |
| Date | April 9, 1968 |
|---|---|
| Location | Private funeral service: Ebenezer Baptist Church Atlanta, Georgia Public funeral service: Morehouse College Atlanta, Georgia |
The first memorial service following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, took place the following day at the R.S. Lewis Funeral Home in Memphis, Tennessee. This was followed by two funeral services on April 9, 1968, in Atlanta, Georgia, the first held for family and close friends at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King and his father had both served as senior pastors, followed by a three-mile procession to Morehouse College, King's alma mater, for a public service.
President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a national day of mourning for King on April 7.