That same day , Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis , Tennessee , leading to a nationwide wave of riots in more than 100 cities . In response , Cooke went to Harlem to plead for racial peace and later attended King 's funeral . After the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy , Cooke baptized Kennedy 's youngest child , Rory Kennedy
assassinated
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Terence Cooke