Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
King giving a lecture on March 26, 1964. Photo Library of Congress Martin Luther King, Jr., an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement is best known for being a heroic figure in civil rights advancement not only in the United States but around the world. King’s use of nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, presented him as a paradigm in the history of modern day American liberalism.
A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and the 1957 Southern Christian Leadership Conference, serving as its first president. The 1963 March on Washington was spearheaded by King where he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, establishing his reputation as one of the greatest American orators. It was in Washington that he expanded American values to include the vision of a color blind society.
King’s work to end racial segregation and discrimination through nonviolence garnered him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He was the youngest recipient of this award. By the time of his death in 1968 his efforts had refocused on ending poverty and the war in Vietnam.
On April 4, 1968, King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004 posthumously. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986.
King giving a lecture on March 26, 1964. Photo Library of Congress Martin Luther King, Jr., an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement is best known for being a heroic figure in civil rights advancement not only in the United States but around the world. King’s use of nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, presented him as a paradigm in the history of modern day American liberalism.
A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and the 1957 Southern Christian Leadership Conference, serving as its first president. The 1963 March on Washington was spearheaded by King where he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, establishing his reputation as one of the greatest American orators. It was in Washington that he expanded American values to include the vision of a color blind society.
King’s work to end racial segregation and discrimination through nonviolence garnered him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He was the youngest recipient of this award. By the time of his death in 1968 his efforts had refocused on ending poverty and the war in Vietnam.
On April 4, 1968, King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004 posthumously. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986.