Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil right movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States and he is frequently referenced as a human rights icon today.

King led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history.

By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and opposing the VietnamWar, both from a religious perspective.

In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. national holiday in 1986. (192)

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