Many people do not realize that Dr. Martin L. King Jr. faced an assassin 10 years before he was gunned down by James Earl Ray. Izola Curry was a mentally ill Black woman who believed that her thoughts were being controlled by King and the NAACP. On Sept. 20, 1958, while King was at a book signing in Harlem, New York, Ware plunged a steel letter opener into his chest, almost killing the iconic leader. Barely missing his aorta, King stated after the incident the doctors told him if he had sneezed, he would have died.
Curry was arrested and charged and was institutionalized at the Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. She was later released and spent the majority of her life in and out of institutions and nursing homes.
“I feel no ill will toward Mrs. Izola Curry and know that thoughtful people will do all in their power to see that she gets the help she apparently needs if she is to become a free and constructive member of society,” said Dr. King at the time.
Curry, 98, died this past Saturday at a New York City nursing home.
