
New photos have emerged of the day hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Atlanta in April 1968 to say goodbye to Martin Luther King Jr.

The photos were discovered roughly 10 years ago buried in a cardboard box in the basement of a Georgia home. They were made public for the first time in honor of the 50th anniversary of King's death.

The pictures belong to Ken Guthrie, an amateur photographer who at that time took a trip to Atlanta with friends so he could capture one of the most significant moments in US history: the funeral of MLK.

Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's death. The Baptist minister and civil rights leader was assassinated at the age of 39 on April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee

King's funeral was held a week after his death in Atlanta on April 9, 1968. Pictured above is MLK's mule-drawn casket as it makes its way down the crowded Atlanta streets

The King held two funeral services. One was a private service at Ebenezer Baptist Church (pictured above) and the second was open to the public and held at King's alma mater Morehouse College

It's believed nearly 200,000 people attended King's funeral on April 9, 1968. Pictured above is a shot of thousands of people crowding into the streets for MLK's procession and funeral

Ken Guthrie, who was a college student at the time, captured incredible images from the funeral. Pictured is a woman standing in the crowd during King's funeral procession

Mourners are pictured in the crowd of King's Atlanta funeral. Many of Guthrie's images captured the sadness and pain people felt at that time

Guthrie, who captured this image of a large crowd of people gathering for King's procession, said he drove to Atlanta for the funeral because he knew it would be a significant moment in US history

'I was intensely aware of what was going on and wanted to be a part of it,' Guthrie told the Atlanta Journal Constitution in a recent interview.

It's believed that roughly 200,000 people crowded onto downtown Atlanta streets on April 9, 1968 for King's funeral. The Baptist minister and civil rights leader was assassinated a week prior, on April 4, while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

Guthrie told the outlet that at that time he was a 20-year-old college student at Reinhardt College in Waleska. He had always had an interest in photography and decided to make the hour-long trip with a few friends so he could get a few shots of King's funeral.

'I knew it was gonna be significant and I wanted to take some photographs there,' Guthrie explained.

Using a newspaper description of the 4.3 mile processional route, Guthrie and his friends made their way towards Ebenezer Baptist Church, where a private funeral service was held.

The King family held a second service later that day at MLK's alma mater Morehouse College.

Another image of King's casket as it makes it way down the street. Guthrie said civil rights leaders Hosea Williams, Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young and James Orange and King's two sons, Martin III and Dexter King surrounded the casket

An emotional crowd: Guthrie was able to capture the pain many people felt on that April 1968 day as they came together to say goodbye to Martin Luther King Jr

There were so many people attending the procession that many people could not even get close enough to see the casket or church. Pictured above is one man climbing a telephone pole in an attempt to see over the massive crowd of people

Mourners are pictured in Atlanta at King's funeral

Many famous faces attended Martin Luther King's funeral including Jackie Kennedy, who is pictured arriving at Ebenezer Baptist Church

Robert F Kennedy also attended the funeral services. Kennedy is pictured above arriving to Ebenezer Baptist Church in his car

Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy is pictured above being escorted into the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on April 9, 1968

Hundreds of thousands of people were in Atlanta on April 9, 1968 for the services. It was so many people that most could not attend or even get close to the church

Police are seen in this photo trying to clear a path through the massive crowd. Hundreds of thousands of people attended the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr

So many people were in Atlanta that day that it was almost impossible to get near the funeral locations, but Guthrie still managed to get incredible photos.

One image captured the pain and sadness on the faces of those who had gathered outside for the funeral.

Others showed people climbing telephone poles and trees in hopes of getting a glimpse of King's mule-drawn casket.

Guthrie also managed to capture images of Jackie Kennedy, Ted Kennedy and Minnesota Democratic senator Eugene McCarthy arriving at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

The now-70-year-old instructor at Georgia State University also caught images of civil rights leaders Hosea Williams, Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young and James Orange and King's two sons, Martin III and Dexter King surrounding the casket as it made its way down the street.

'I think we need to revisit these things,' Guthrie told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

'I think we do a better job of educating our students of what it was like. They need to know the significance of what occurred when Martin Luther King died and when the service was held here in Atlanta.'

Pictured above is another image people attending the April 9, 1968 procession and funeral of Martin Luther King Jr

Martin Luther King's funeral procession was a little over four miles long and was attended by hundreds of thousands of people

The procession route traveled through Atlanta giving everyone a chance to say goodbye to the civil rights leader and activist. Pictured above are children attending the April 1968 procession