Why didn't Martin Luther King Jr run for president?

Answer 1

That was a personal thing so we can't know for sure. But I think it's because many white people wanted him dead at the time, so he really would not had a very good chance of winning. By the time he started gaining respect he had been assassinated. It also takes a lot of money to run for president and he did not have much money.

The country was not ready for a black president. Further, his message was more about empowerment of African Americans, not about the running of the country. World Political Powers were also not ready for a black US president, as racism was evident not only in the US, but extended to the rest of the world as well. Martin Luther King Jr preferred to focus on disseminating the message. Running for president would have taken away from that.

Answer 2

Because he was assassinated before he could.