In Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Days, A Strike in Memphis

In this April 3, 1968 file photo, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. stands with other civil rights leaders on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., a day before he was assassinated.

Journalist Ted Conover talks about his latest article for Smithsonian magazine called, “I Am a Man.” He looks at one of the last things Martin Luther King Jr. did before he was shot in April 1968. He showed solidarity with the Memphis's striking sanitation workers and delivered a speech to a crowd of around 15,000 people. Ten days later, he led a march that turned into a violent demonstration, with stores being looted and the police shooting and killing a 16-year-old.