Hearse that carried Dr. King's body in Memphis listed for $2.5M

ATLANTA — An anonymous seller has hired a broker of historic artifacts and documents to sell the hearse that carried Martin Luther King Jr. through Memphis.

His price? $2.5 million.

The seller wants whoever buys the vehicle to donate it to a museum.

He won’t do so himself because he says he needs to recover his investment

The March 21 documentary 'The Last Days of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.' on Channel 2 begins a countdown of remembrance across the combined platforms of Channel 2 and its partners, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB Radio.

The three Atlanta news sources will release comprehensive multi-platform content over the following 19 days. 

On April 4, the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination, the three properties will devote extensive live coverage to the memorials in Atlanta, Memphis and around the country.

The project will present a living timeline in real time as it occurred on that day in 1968, right down to the time the fatal shot was fired that ended his life an hour later.

The project will culminate on April 9 with coverage of the special processional in Atlanta marking the path of Dr. King’s funeral, which was watched by the world. 

“Although a hearse is a lurid thing to consider, nothing about civil rights is pretty,” says Gary Zimet, who runs a website called MomentsInTime.com and is representing the seller.

On the web page advertising the vehicle, Zimet says:

"This important artifact … stands today as a solemn reminder of the ultimate sacrifice made by Dr. King with his own life; it is an eternal symbol of the collective struggle of the oppressed; and it is nothing short of true National Treasure."

For his Atlanta funeral, King’s body was carried through the streets on a simple farm wagon drawn by two mules.

The King family donated the wagon to the National Park Service, whose King National Historic Site planned to open a new exhibit around the wagon on April 4.

This article was written by Ernie Suggs, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. CLICK HERE to read the entire report on myAJC.com.

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