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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Thank you!

March for Equal Rights

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the driving force behind historical events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the March on Washington. These events helped bring about such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and is remembered every year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a U.S. federal holiday since 1986.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

He was a Baptist minister and social activist who played a key role in the American Civil Rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968. He was inspired by advocates of nonviolence such as his father and Mahatma Gandhi. Dr. King sought equality for African Americans who were economically disadvantaged and victims of injustice through peaceful protest.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream

I Have a Dream

Montgomery Bus Boycott

On just another ordinary day in December 1955, Rosa Parks was riding the bus home from a long day of work. She sat in the "colored section" because of the color of her skin. When the White section became full, a white man and the bus driver demanded Rosa Parks and three other black passengers to stand up and move back. The other three complied, however Ms. Parks said "No." When the bus driver threatened to have her arrested, she replied, "You may do that." Rosa Parks 'sat down' for what she believed in, inspired by the boycott led by

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Freedom

Now, all people have freedoms and equal rights in the United States. Because of people like Martin Luther King Jr. who stood up, or in Rosa Parks case 'sat down', for what they believed in, these freedoms are possible.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

1950's

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark for civil rights and labor laws in the United States. This Act outlawed discrimination based on race, skin color, religion, sex, or national origin.

In 1950, blacks were considered "separate but equal". However, they were discriminated against and segregated by the white population.

Slow, Small Steps

School Integration

Slowly, there were small steps taken to further equality. Major League Baseball was integrated by Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers' General Manager Branch Rickey. Also, schools were taking steps to integrate the schools.

Though these beginnings brought blacks and whites together, they could not change the way most whites felt about blacks.

In the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Brown vs Board of Education decision, the NAACP’s legal strategy against segregated education culminated. Blacks gained the formal, if not the practical, right to study alongside white students in primary and secondary schools.