Holy Week

Whoever believes in him shall not perish

A settlement in ashes

On Palm Sunday, Black D.C. wakes up to a broken dream

Leaders hope to stop that which had been foretold

In Memphis, the Movement faces a reckoning

Additional reading: The 4ooth: From Slavery to Hip Hop by John Burl Smith

Who will rise next?

The Black capital of the world catches fire

A day at the crossroads of chance and destiny

Holy Week: The story of a revolution undone.

The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, is often recounted as a conclusion to a powerful era of civil rights in America, but how did this hero’s murder come to be the stitching used to tie together a narrative of victory? The week that followed his killing was one of the most fiery, disruptive, and revolutionary, and is nearly forgotten. Over the course of eight episodes, Holy Week brings forward the stories of the activists who turned heartbreak into action, families scorched by chaos, and politicians who worked to contain the grief. Seven days diverted the course of a social revolution and set the stage for modern clashes over voting rights, redlining, critical race theory, and the role of racial unrest in today’s post–George Floyd reckoning.

Subscribe and listen to all 8 episodes coming March 14. www.theatlantic.com/holyweek