Feb. 24, 1965 | MLK Press Conference in L.A.

Feb. 24, 1965 - Wrapped in heavy security guard, Dr Martin Luther King arrived in Los Angeles today with words of sorrow at the death of black nationalist Malcolm X and with renewed dedication “to the practicality of nonviolence.”
“I hope nothing happens to me,” the civil rights leader smiled in answer to a question, but should he be killed, he said, there should be no violent retaliation.
“I’ve learned to take death threats rather philosophically,” Dr. King said. “I think this cause is right. One has to conquer the fear of death if he is going to do anything constructive in life and take a stand against evil. I am prepared to face anything that comes.”
Malcolm’s slaying Sunday in New York City came at a time, Dr. King said, “when he was re-evaluating his philosophy, showing more tolerance for white people and the nonviolent movement.”
Malcolm, the onetime Black Muslim who broke off last year to form his own black nationalist group, “was a victim of the despair which comes into being as the result of a society which gives Negroes a sense of ‘nobodyness,’” Dr. King said.
Tomorrow, Dr. King will speak before 1,800 in the Palladium at a luncheon sponsored by the World Affairs Council. At 7:30 tomorrow evening, he will attend the premiere of the Biblical picture “The Greatest Story Ever Told” at Pacific’s Cinerama Theater. Friday at 8:30 p.m., he will speak at Hollywood Temple Israel services.
Dr. King will return to Alabama Sunday night for a renewal of voter registration demonstrations at Marion and Selma.

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