Hope Bios: Martin Luther King Jr.

 Martin Luther King Jr.  

1929 – 1968

Change through Activism

His Calling

American pastor, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the Civil Rights Movement.

His Faith

King advanced civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs and the character of Jesus. King was a Baptist pastor.

His Legacy

King led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, serving as its first president. With the SCLC, King led an unsuccessful struggle against segregation in Albany, Georgia, in 1962, and organized nonviolent protests in Birmingham, Alabama, that attracted national attention following television news coverage of the brutal police response. King also helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

In 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence. In 1965, he and the SCLC helped to organize the Selma to Montgomery marches and the following year, he took the movement north to Chicago to work on segregated housing. In the final years of his life, King expanded his focus to include poverty and the Vietnam War.

In 1968, King was planning a national occupation of Washington, D.C., to be called the Poor People's Campaign, when he was assassinated in Tennessee. His death was followed by riots in many U.S. cities. King is remembered with a national holiday, many streets and buildings are named for him, and young children are taught about his work.

What can I do?

▪ Learn more: Watch the movie Selma. Our campus library has many books! Try The Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr in the circulating videos section.

▪ Contemporary issues with racism in America: stop and frisk laws, stand your ground laws, unfair sentencing, disproportionate numbers of black men in jail.

▪ America is a nation of equality, but we often fall short of this ideal. Where have you seen racism in your life?

▪ Activism: talk with your friends and family. Share on social media. Educate yourself.

▪ Contemporary US Issues: read hashtags: #blacklivesmatter

▪ Interview one person this week who has a different background from your own. Ask questions, listen, rather than arguing or correcting them.