Plaque honoring actor James Earl Jones has name of Dr. King's killer on it instead

A plaque intended to honor baritone-voiced actor James Earl Jones at a celebration of late civil rights leader the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Lauderhill, FL, instead was erroneously inscribed to James Earl Ray, King's killer.

"Thank you James Earl Ray for keeping the dream alive," read the plaque, which prompted outrage among civil leaders.

The plaque, to be presented at Lauderhill's annual King celebration, was made by Texas-based Merit Industries at the request of Adpro, a Lauderhill-based business.

But instead of thanking Jones, the plaque erroneously honors Ray, who shot and killed King in 1968.

"It had an immediate chill. It was eerie," said Adpro owner Gerald Wilcox, 43, as he showed the plaque displaying words that, he said, "deeply hurt."

Wilcox said he knew the error didn't come from his company, but he sent a company secretary searching through order forms, just be to sure.

The plaque features a 15-cent stamp of King and stamps of six other famous Blacks, including Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. DuBois and Paul Laurence Dunbar.

The finished product arrived and, even without seeing it, officials in this Fort Lauderdale suburb were angry.

"It's a real outrage," Commissioner Margaret Bates told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "To confuse James Earl Jones with James Earl Ray ... Just think of the significance."

Jones is a Tony Award-winning actor who provided the voice for Darth Vader from Star Wars and the voice of the patriarch father lion Mufasa from The Lion King.

Merit's owner, Herbert Miller, called the mistake a copy error, and not a slur.

"We have a lot of people who don't speak English. Accidentally, one of the girls who doesn't know James Earl Jones from a man on the moon accidentally typed James Earl Ray," said Miller, who offered to correct the plaque if Adpro returns it.

Wilcox accused Miller's company of being "culturally insensitive" and is having the damage repaired locally so that it will be ready in time for the celebration.