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ee ee ce ae em i ee ie II. ‘THE ASSASSINATION INVESTIGATION A. Events Sur ril 4, 1968 1. ‘The Poor People's Campaign To understand the movements of Dr. King during this critical period, it is necessary to briefly discuss the Poor People’s Campaign (POCAM), originally called the Washington Spring Project in which he and the SCLC were involved. POCAM was scheduled to begin the first week of April 1968, and involved recruiting sane 3,000 poor unemployed blacks from 16 localities in the United States for the purpose of going to Washington, D.C., and petitioning the goverrment to improve their economic status (HQ 157-8428-51). The plan was to camp on the Washington Mormment or Lincoln Memorial groumds (HQ 157-8428-132). During the first and second weeks, demands would be made of congressmen and heads of departments, such as the Secretary of Labor. If the demands were not met, nomviolent demonstrations were to be | conducted (HQ 157-8428--109). Dr. King's plarmed travel schedule for February and March included trips to 9 major cities and visits to various points in Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia (HQ 157 8428-75). By mid February Dr. King had | become discouraged with the lack of progress in recruiting and -14-