The race riots in 130 cities across America in April 1968 were precipitated by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was a prominent civil rights leader who advocated for nonviolent resistance to segregation and discrimination. His assassination was seen as a major blow to the civil rights movement and led to widespread anger and frustration among African Americans, who had already been struggling for years to secure equal rights and opportunities in American society. The riots were a response to this frustration and were fueled by a sense of hopelessness and anger among African Americans who felt that their voices were not being heard and that their struggles for justice and equality were being ignored by the government and society at large.