King family, Ebenezer gather to remember MLK's mother on 50th anniversary of her murder

The musical selections, including rousing renditions of “Just a Little Talk with Jesus” and “The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power,” were performed by some of the original members of the Martin Luther King Sr. Choir.

Under the leadership of Alberta King, they were supposed to sing those songs on the day of the shooting 50 years ago.

Alberta King, the long-time musical director of Ebenezer, was to start with “The Lord’s Prayer.”

On that morning, the congregation closed their eyes and bowed their heads as she began to play.

Having denounced Christianity, 23-year-old Marcus Wayne Chenault walked into Ebenezer with two guns with the intention of killing the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. Instead, as the service began, he shot Alberta King twice.

He then shot and killed longtime church Deacon Edward Boykin. Trustee Jimmie Mitchell, who had sat next to Chenault before the service began, was shot but survived her injuries.

“Nobody thought my grandmother would be shot playing “The Lord’s Prayer,” in church,” Isaac Farris said.

James Boykin Jr., a nephew of Boykin, offered the opening prayer for the program. Ivy Singletary, a great-granddaughter of Jimmie Mitchell, was one of five students who read The Litany during Sunday’s program.

“What we heard today ... we take it in, we reflect on it, and we incorporate it in our lives,” said Bernice King. “Everybody in here comes from ancestors who faced dark, difficult and evil times, but they got through it. That is a part of your DNA. The ability to overcome difficult seasons.”

After members of the King family talked about the shooting, the AJC’s Monica Pearson pushed the issue of Alberta King’s murder forward with a conversation with Warnock, McBath and Bernice King about gun violence.

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