*In her first network TV interview speaking with NBC News’ Lester Holt, Clara Ester recounts standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968, and rushing to Martin Luther King Junior’s side when he was shot 50 years ago tomorrow.
“I’m standing there looking up at this great giant in my life. And what sounded like a great truck backfiring, but I never took my eyes off of him. I heard somebody say ‘get down,’ ‘get down,’ but I saw him being lifted up and thrown back”
Later adding: “I remember stepping over his body to where the wound was. I checked for a pulse which was just, literally, no beat at all.”
Tune in to NBC’s TODAY tomorrow morning for more coverage of the 50th anniversary of MLK’s assassination, including a report from Tom Brokaw.
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt will be live from outside the Lorraine Motel in Memphis for tomorrow night’s broadcast.
