Martin Luther King Jr. hospitalized

Woman judged insane after plunging a letter opener into the civil rights leader’s chest.

Black civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 29, is in critical condition at Harlem Hospital in New York after being stabbed in the chest with a 7-inch steel letter opener while signing copies of his book "Stride Toward Freedom" at Blumstein’s department store.

Police say Izola Ware Curry, 42, an African American woman, not only stabbed King but was carrying a pistol in her dress. According to a witness, Curry said: "I’ve been after him for six years. I’m glad I done it."

Authorities suspected Curry was mentally ill and placed her under observation at Bellevue Hospital. However, she insisted "I’m not ill," and when a reporter asked "When did you first decide to kill Mr. King?" she snapped: "Who said I wanted to kill him?"   

King remained in critical condition after the attack, and a few days later, he developed pneumonia. He was released from the hospital Oct. 3, 1958. Curry was charged with attempted murder and committed to Matteawan State Hospital after being judged insane.

While in the hospital, King expressed no bitterness toward Curry. Upon his release, he said, according to the New York Times: "Our society needs to be more concerned about mental health and social problems which contribute to this matter. We should go out with determination to solve many of the social problems which contributed to conditions that lead up to incidents like this."

A signed copy of "Stride Toward Freedom" sells for thousands of dollars today.

Bonus factoid: According to the New York Sun, Blumstein’s department store was boycotted in the 1930s because it only hired whites. Afterward, it began hiring African Americans, including the nation’s first black Santa Claus.