Now 50 years on from Dr King’s death, Jackson is amazed at how far the Civil Rights Movement has come.

Jackson says Dr King would have loved to watch Black Panther in the cinema. As a boy growing up in the South,  he and King were not even allowed to enter certain cinemas. Now a movie with an all black cast has become the 9th-highest-grossing film of all time with over $1.35 billion worldwide. 

“King dreamed of a day we would be judged by character, not by colour. This is part of the dream unfolding,” he explains.

“They Killed Him So Viciously”

“I remember a time when if a basketball team had two blacks on it, it was a breakthrough. Now it’s common to see 10 blacks on a court. Now we can carry a film.

“Of course, it’s taken too long, but here we are. Dr King became a universal icon in death in ways he couldn’t in life. So he still lives.”

“One of America’s great friends – they killed him so viciously.”

Escaped prisoner James Earl Ray was arrested for Dr King’s murder, after going on the run, first to Canada and then Europe.

He was finally captured on June 8, 1968, and remained behind bars until his death in 1998. But conspiracy theorists have longed believed Ray was innocent and King was murdered by the government.