January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesman and leader in the American civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. King advanced civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, inspired by his Christian belief nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi. He was the son of early civil rights activist and minister Martin Luther King Sr.
King participated in and led marches for blacks' right to vote, desegregation, labor rights, and other basic civil rights.[1] King led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and later became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As president of the SCLC, he led the unsuccessful Albany Movement in Albany, Georgia, and helped organize some of the nonviolent 1963 protests in Birmingham, Alabama. King helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Wikipedia
Courage in the face of anti-Black violence and terrorism, leadership and fortitude are just three qualities for which Dr. King is remembered. He led the effort for legal equality for Africans in America and used non-violent resistance to achieve this goal. He was not intimidated by or fearful of those who opposed him. Dr. King’s faith and family were the cornerstones of his life. His “I Have a Dream” and “I’ve Been to The Mountaintop” speeches, Nobel Prize lecture and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” are among the most revered orations and writings in the English language. Dr. King’s commitment to his people was unwavering.
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