[4][5] Following King's assassination, Kansas City was engulfed in "more an atmosphere of stunned shock than a real threat of violence".
Before the march, McDowell and Kansas City Missouri Mayor Ilus W. Davis took part in a televised forum with local civil rights leaders.
[2] Under pressure from civil rights organizations, KCPS opted to hold school-wide memorial assemblies in place of one-minute meditations.
As several non-students joined the march, the decision was made to dismiss school to avoid property damage.
[1] The protest, rapidly turning from a student march to a civil rights organization, met with Mayor Davis at Parade Park.
[1]: 24 [2] That morning, Governor Warren E. Hearnes had authorized the deployment of 1,000 Missouri National Guardsmen (MONG) in Kansas City.
Hazlett returned that evening from Washington, D.C., and conferred with Mayor Davis; the outcome was that KCPS schools would remain open the following day.
[1] At around 7:00pm, the MONG and KCPD responded to a reports of unruly crowds gathering at 30th Street and Prospect Avenue near the Byron Hotel.
Gas canisters eventually forced the hotel to evacuate but the haze, combined with officer shooting out lights, led to more confusion.
Mayor McDowell issued a curfew proclamation at 8:35pm and began utilizing the Kansas National Guard to enforce police presence.