“An
Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King” song is based
upon the book of the same title by King family lawyer, William
Pepper. (lyrics below) The book tells the story of the trial that Pepper won on
behalf of the King family in 1999 in a Memphis, Tennessee court where
a jury of 6 black and 6 white jurors unanimously found Loyd Jowers
and unnamed government conspirators guilty of murdering Martin Luther
King. The King family had long determined that James Earl Ray was not
the lone gunman in an act of hate, but rather a patsy in a conspiracy
to decapitate the unifying strength of the peace and justice
movements that Dr King represented.
The
2012 Sound Cloud version of “An Act of State: The Execution of
Martin Luther King” has more clarity and depth than the one
recorded in 2010, which was used for the music video posted at
YouTube and other music video sharing sites. The 2012 Sound Cloud
version was recorded at Robot Envy Studio with owner Sammy Fielding
as the Sound Engineer. Vic Sadot is on vocals and acoustic guitar.
Eric Golub provides a great accompaniment on viola that captures the
spirit of the song. This is not a final mix, but it's up to get the
message out. Most likely, this song will be on a coming CD to be
titled “Courage To Resist” when funding allows that to
happen.
William
Pepper is a legendary American author, British barrister, and King
family lawyer. Martin Luther King contacted William Pepper after
reading an article Pepper had written in Ramparts magazine about the
effects of the Vietnam War on the children of Vietnam. He invited
Pepper to speak to his congregation, which was the beginning of a
life-long friendship with MLK and his family. William Pepper
continued to investigate the assassination of MLK for years. The King
family and William Pepper got considerable criticism in the
mainstream press for stating that they did not believe that James
Earl Ray was the killer of King. Among the many facts that came out
in the trial was that James Earl Ray had been given a top security
NSA identity as Eric Galt for the entire 9 months before the
execution, which enabled the escaped prisoner to travel to wherever
his handlers sent him without any problems from local law
enforcement.
They
won a unanimous conviction of Loyd Jowers and “unnamed government
conspirators” for the murder of Martin Luther King. Loyd Jowers was
the owner of Jim's Grill, a restaurant across the street from the
Lorraine Motel where MLK was gunned down in broad daylight on April
4, 1968 while in support of the union struggle of the sanitation
workers for decent wages. Rather than an act of hate, Kings murder
was an act of state. Jowers and waitresses from that era testified
that much of the planning for the murder had taken place at Jowers'
restaurant. They gave testimony that persuaded the American jury that
there was a “conspiracy” to execute Dr King. William Pepper later
wrote a book about the trial and the lack of fair, or even any, media
coverage in the wake of their stunning victory and what was thereby placed into the public record of the history of the United States of America. It was an amazing media
black-out of the news that continues on every MLK National Holiday! His book bears the same title as this song,
“An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King”.
William
Pepper gave this enthusiastic endorsement of the song by Vic Sadot:
""Vic,
thank you for taking the time to put some important history into a
ballad. This, of course, is the role of the Balladeer without whom
much of history would be lost, especially in our time with the
consolidation of control of the mainstream media. I am grateful."
Bill Pepper
An
Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King
William
Pepper was a young man when he first met Dr. King
Who read his war
reporting on Viet children suffering (1 Ramparts magazine
1967)
Martin asked young William Pepper to speak about the war
To
come to his congregation. And they were friends forevermore…
Then
William went to law school to put his talents to the task
To fight
for social justice! To answer questions we must ask!
It was April
4, 1968 when Martin Luther King
Was murdered in the broad day
light… It was a devastating thing!
There
was a mighty “Rush to Judgment” (2 Mark Lane on JFK)…To blame
it on James Earl Ray
There was agreement in the government to tell
the media what to say
The media called it “a crime of hate”…
A “lone-nut” simple thing…
Now we know it was “An Act of
State” (3 Book by William Pepper), the execution of Dr. King
James
Earl Ray was just a patsy, an escaped prisoner for sure…
With a
top security identity for the whole 9 months before…
Some rogues
within the government shielded James as “Eric Galt”
Gave him a
car and a license to secure him ‘til assault…
To
protect this petty criminal… To put the patsy into place
His
handler sent him to Memphis where like a pawn he showed his
face
Well, Martin marched for Civil Rights! And he stood against
all war!
He spoke for truth and justice, and non-violence. That’s
for sure!
When
Martin stood with the workers… in solidarity with the poor…
That
high class oligarchy hated Martin. That’s for sure!
Earl Clark
was one of the Memphis cops meeting at Loyd Jowers Grill
Across
from the Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was killed
Two
military snipers teams would have also fired
If the police team
from Memphis failed to do what was required
Next day cops cleaned
the crime scene… Hauled the brush and the proof away
They
avoided all the witnesses that might have some truth to say
Too
many unanswered questions still blowin’ in the wind
In a murder
investigation so deliberately ruined
Too many disturbing answers
still came out in the trial
Enough to prove conspiracy to a nation
in denial
Six
white and six black jurors unanimously agreed
The facts presented
at the trial proved who really did the deed
Yes, it all came out
in the trial that in ’99 they won!
When the government was
convicted of the conspiracy they’d done
William
Pepper was the lawyer who won the case in court
But when he went
to the press conference no reporters came to report
So here’s to
William Pepper! The King Family, brave and wise!
For standing for
the truth for us! For overcoming all the lies!
William
Pepper, keep on struggling! You know you’re following…
The
teachings and the vision, and the dream of Dr. King!
William
Pepper wrote a book about the trial and everything…
An Act of
State: The Execution of Martin Luther King (3)
Copyright
August 12, 2009 Victor Rene Sadot, BMI, Orbian Love Music
