Remembering MLK
January 20, 2020 10:35AM EST
Here are some key facts from the life of Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr became the predominant leader in the Civil Rights Movement to end racial segregation and discrimination in America during the 1950s and 1960s.
Martin Luther King Jr. was the most important voice of the American civil rights movement, which worked for equal rights for all. … Because of his great work, in 1964 King received the Nobel Peace Prize — the youngest person ever to receive this high honor. He was also a Baptist minister.
It’s because of Martin Luther King and the efforts of his supporters that America came to understand the power of nonviolent protest. The Voting Rights Act protects African Americans’ right to vote. He also played a major part in the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
Martin Luther King, Jr., is known for his contributions to the American civil rights movement in the 1960s. His most famous work is his “I Have a Dream” (1963) speech, in which he spoke of his dream of a United States that is void of segregation and racism. King also advocated for nonviolent methods of protest.
For more than 10 years, Dr. King campaigned against segregation, prejudice & racial inequality. Over his lifetime, he gave more than 2,500 speeches, gaining followers and supporters around the country and the world. He tragically died in 1968.
Below is the audio of a speech he gave in Canton in 1964.