PHILADELPHIA - Faith leaders and community members gathered in Philadelphia to honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
on 55th anniversary of his assassination at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. The commemoration began Tuesday outside the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral at 6:01 p.m., the exact moment Dr.
King was killed on April 4th, 1968. The co-founder of the group RawTools sawed in half the type of rifle that James Earl Ray used to kill the civil rights icon."He was such a powerful voice for peace and non-violence, so we want to celebrate him," Executive Director of RawTools Shane Claiborne said. "I thought this would be a great way to do it."RawTools, a non-profit organization, normally turns guns into gardening tools, but they plan on turning the destroyed rifle into a cross.
In a city plagued with gun violence as badly as Philadelphia has been over the recent years, some felt the gesture was relatable on a different level. "They took that rifle and they cut it in half, isn't that what we want to do, take these weapons and cut them in half and make them useless," Pastor of Christ Community Church of Philadelphia Pam Davis said.