Who Was Martin Luther King Jr.?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He remains an American hero, and will likely (and should) be regarded as such for all time.

King, a Baptist minister and civil-rights activist, had a seismic impact on race relations in the United States, beginning in the mid-1950s.

Among his many efforts, King headed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Through his activism and inspirational speeches he played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the United States, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, among several other honors.

One of my favorite quote from MLK continues to be: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

He was assassinated in April 1968, and continues to be remembered as one of the most influential and inspirational Black leaders in history.