Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister and social rights activist in the United States in the 1950s and 60s. He played a pivotal role in advancing civil rights in America and has won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to fight racial inequality in a non-violent manner. Some of his key accomplishments include:
-
Montgomery Bus Boycott: Starting in 1955, Montgomerys Black community staged an extremely successful bus boycott that lasted for over a year. King played a pivotal leadership role in organizing the protest.
-
Southern Christian Leadership Conference: With other Black church leaders in the South, King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to mount nonviolent protests against racist Jim Crow laws.
-
March on Washington: King organized a number of peaceful protests as head of the SCLC, including the March on Washington in 1963.
-
Nobel Peace Prize: King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his civil rights and social justice activism.
-
Assassination: In the spring of 1968, King visited Memphis, Tennessee, to support Black sanitary workers who were on strike. On April 4, King was assassinated by James Earl Ray in his Memphis hotel.
Kings legacy has inspired activists fighting injustice anywhere in the world.
