50 years ago: The Sun's coverage of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination and the Baltimore riots

The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. had profound effects on the country, with some 125 cities erupting in civil unrest. In Baltimore, the killing of the civil rights leader in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 1968, lead to unrest, protests and ultimately looting, fires and rioting that tore apart the city. From April 6 to 14, the Baltimore Riots of 1968 resulted in six deaths, 700 injuries, 5,900 arrests, 1,000 small businesses damaged or robbed, and $12 million in property damage. The Sun was there, to capture the unrest and the destruction that forever changed Baltimore City. Here are some of The Sun’s and The Evening Sun’s pages and pictures from those days. The Sun's front page on April 5, 1968. Maryland Institute students show their sentiments with this Mount Royal Station sign. The Evening Sun of April 5 featured stories on a potential workers' strike and fires being set. The Sun's front page from April 6, 1968. Baltimore firefighters battle flames in the distance as pedestrians walk past bricks and debris on April 6. Firefighters try to douse flames at Lee's Surplus at North and Linden avenues on April 6. The Evening Sun on April 6, 1968. The Sun's front page from April 7, 1968. Maj. Gen. George M. Gelston and Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro on a tour of the riot area on April 7. The Sun's front page from April 8, 1968. The Evening Sun front page from April 8, 1968. Images from the April 8 Evening Sun. At left, smoke from scattered fires clouds the air of a sunny Palm Sunday. The view is of a section of East Baltimore. Rioters hampered firefighters in their efforts to douse the many fires. At right, fire at Harford Avenue & Federal Street. Images from the April 8 Evening Sun. From left, flames shoot from the front of a store at Harford Avenue and Lanvale Street. Looting suspect is arrested by police in East Baltimore. Residents watch billowing smoke from a fire that destroyed a building at North and Linden. On April 9, bewildered grocers in the 900 block of Whitelock Street take stock of what the looters left: a litter of torn cardboard cartons and an emptied soft drink bottle. The Evening Sun from April 9, 1968. The Sun's front page from April 10, 1968. Armed soldiers stand watch as firemen battle a noontime fire on April 10 in an empty warehouse at Broadway and Orleans Street. The four alarmer, termed arson by fire officials, was the most serious incident in a generally quiet day. The Evening Sun's front page from April 10, 1968. The Evening Sun from April 10, 1968. The Evening Sun's front page from April 11, 1968.