Martin Luther King Jr
From WikiDemocracy
Martin Luther King Jr
A Black church leader, King participated in and led marches for the right to vote, desegregation, labor rights, and other civil rights. He oversaw the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As president of the SCLC, he led the unsuccessful Albany Movement in Albany, Georgia, and helped organize nonviolent 1963 protests in Birmingham, Alabama. King was one of the leaders of the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and helped organize two of the three Selma to Montgomery marches during the 1965 Selma voting rights movement. There were dramatic standoffs with segregationist authorities, who often responded violently. The civil rights movement achieved pivotal legislative gains in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
There’s Infinitely More to Martin Luther King Jr. Than ‘I Have a Dream’
by Craig Gordon 2021 ZINN EDUCATION PROJECT
Back in 2001, I was trying to get my eleventh grade U.S. history class to focus on a passage from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1967 book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? Unfortunately, I was not surprised when a student protested, “We already know about him. We’re tired of hearing about Martin Luther King.”
Martin Luther King Jr. Day: When & Why We Celebrate
by Beatrice Alvarez 16/1/21 PBS
In 1994 Congress passed a bill to dedicate the national holiday as a national day of service. The King Holiday and Service Act was introduced by Congressman John Lewis and Senator Harris Wofford, both of whom had worked alongside Dr. King in civil rights activism. Since then, it has become a day to remember Dr. King’s work and, as importantly, to continue on the path towards justice he paved for us.
Challenging Ourselves: Martin Luther King, the Movement, and Its Lessons for Today
by Charles E. Cobb 2017 ZINN EDUCATION PROJECT
My friend and former co-worker in the movement Julian Bond, who is greatly missed, used to say that the primary misconception in the public’s perception of the Southern Civil Rights Movement can be boiled down to three short sentences.
Remembering Martin Luther King Jr., the Organizer
Martin Luther King Jr. is rightly celebrated as a transformative political and moral leader who championed racial equality, but he is less often credited as a brilliant strategic and tactical organizer who led cutting edge campaigns to deliver the rights for which he is known. As an organizer, I am struck by the mastery of the organizing craft that infuses King’s writing, so on this holiday remembering his legacy, I’ll share several of King’s lessons that all activists can benefit from today.
16 Martin Luther King quotes to remember
by AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL 15/1/19
Today we honour the birthday of Martin Luther King, American civil rights activist and champion of non-violent resistance. Here we remember some of his more powerful words.
Dr. Martin Luther King in 1967: “We as a Nation Must Undergo a Radical Revolution of Values”
by Martin Luther King 21/1/13 Democracy Now
President Obama’s inauguration comes on the federal holiday in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech 50 years ago. We end our broadcast show with an excerpt from Dr. King’s “Beyond Vietnam” address, given at New York City’s Riverside Church on April 4, 1967, a year to the day before he was assassinated. “I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values,” Dr. King said. [includes rush transcript]
Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr., we have compiled archival videos, documentaries, commentaries, discussions and reports about his life, legacy and the Civil Rights movement.
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Ralph Abernathy Jailed in Birmingham
On October 30, 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Ralph Abernathy were arrested and forced to begin serving sentences in Birmingham jail because they led peaceful protests against unconstitutional bans on "race mixing" in Birmingham in 1963.
52 Individuals, Including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Arrested in Atlanta Sit-In Protest
On October 19, 1960, 52 individuals, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., were arrested in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, after refusing to leave their seats at segregated department store lunch counters.
The Speech: The Story Behind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream
by ZINN EDUCATION PROJECT 1961
Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his powerful speech on August 28, 1963. Sixty years later, the speech endures as a defining moment in the Civil Rights Movement and remains a beacon in the ongoing struggle for racial equality.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Assassinated in Memphis
On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed while standing on a hotel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. King was in the city to speak on his growing Poor People's Campaign and to support an economic protest by Black sanitation workers.
Tag: "Martin Luther King Jr."
Lesson plan: MLK Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," racism and Jan. 6
Martin Luther King: how a rebel leader was lost to history
by Gary Younge 4/4/18 The Guardian
On 15 January 1998, what would have been Martin Luther King’s 69th birthday, James Farmer was awarded the presidential medal of freedom in the White House’s East Room. “He has never sought the limelight,” said the then president, Bill Clinton. “And until today, I frankly think he’s never got the credit he deserves. His long overdue recognition has come to pass.”
Martin Luther King Stood for More Than Love
by Jeffery Robinson 16/1/18 ACLU
Martin Luther King often spoke of the need for unconditional love. In 1955, he told Black America, “We want to love our enemies — be good to them. This is what we must live by; we must meet hate with love. We must love our white brothers no matter what they do to us.” In his remarks on the King holiday, President Trump referred to love five times in three sentences.
King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life of Struggle Outside the South
by ZINN EDUCATION PROJECT 1961
King of the North fundamentally reshapes how we understand the evolution of Martin Luther King Jr.’s politics and partnerships. While most accounts frame King’s activism as a Southern story culminating in the March on Washington, Theoharis insists we follow him north — into the segregated schools, redlined housing, and brutally policed neighborhoods of Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and beyond.
People’s Historians Online: Rethinking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
by ZINN EDUCATION PROJECT 2/5/20
On International Workers’ Day (May 1), close to 300 educators, parents, and students joined the session with Jeanne Theoharis and Jesse Hagopian on the radical history of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Bull Connor Orders Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Dozens More Civil Rights Marchers Violently Arrested in Birmingham
On April 12, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and at least 55 others, almost all of whom were Black, were jailed for “parading without a permit” during a march against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Remembered With Day of Service
The president will host a conversation at the White House with African-American seniors and their grandchildren, and will speak at a concert at the Kennedy Center. He’ll also attend a public-service event in Washington, D.C.
Rare Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. signatures found in Alabama jail logbook
Rare documents with 12 signatures of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sold on Wednesday for more than $130,000. They were penned in an Alabama jail logbook after King was arrested in April 1963 for leading a march against racial segregation. Rikki Klaus reports on the unprecedented item. It's part of our arts and culture series, "CANVAS."
Dr. King and Hundreds of Voting Rights Activists Arrested
In early 1965, civil rights groups including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) began concentrating on voter registration in Selma, Alabama—a city with the lowest voter registration record in the state's Black Belt region.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
King of the North fundamentally reshapes how we understand the evolution of Martin Luther King Jr.’s politics and partnerships. While most accounts frame King’s activism as a Southern story culminating in the March on Washington, Theoharis insists we follow him north — into the segregated schools, redlined housing, and brutally policed neighborhoods of Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and beyond.
March 22, 1968: March for Justice and Jobs
by ZINN EDUCATION PROJECT 1961
On March 22, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Community on the Move for Equality called for a march in Memphis, Tennessee in solidarity with sanitation workers who were on strike.
Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. and Religious Freedom
The First Amendment guarantees two interrelated aspects of religious freedom: the freedom to believe and to practice one’s religion and the freedom from government sponsorship of religion. Both are integral to ensuring religious liberty flourishes. Because the First Amendment’s religion clauses ensure we all have true freedom of conscience, we are not told what to believe or prohibited from practicing religion.
Most of you have no idea what Martin Luther King actually did
by HamdenRice 29/8/11 DAILY KOS
What most people who reference Dr. King seem not to know is how Dr. King actually changed the subjective experience of life in the United States for African Americans. And yeah, I said for African Americans, not for Americans, because his main impact was his effect on the lives of African Americans, not on Americans in general. His main impact was not to make white people nicer or fairer. That's why some of us who are African Americans get a bit possessive about his legacy. Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy, despite what our civil religion tells us, is not color blind.
SPECIAL: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in His Own Words
by Martin Luther King 20/1/14 DEMOCRACY NOW
Today is the federal holiday that honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was born January 15th, 1929. He was assassinated April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was just 39 years old. While Dr. King is primarily remembered as a civil rights leader, he also championed the cause of the poor and organized the Poor People’s Campaign to address issues of economic justice.
King of the North: Martin Luther King’s Freedom Struggle Outside of the South
by ZINN EDUCATION PROJECT 27/3/25
This talk marks the fifth anniversary of the Zinn Education Project’s Teach the Black Freedom Struggle online class series, which Theoharis co-founded. Watch our 60 previous Teach the Black Freedom Struggle online classes and register for upcoming classes here.
The Martin Luther King You Don’t See on TV
by Jeff Cohen and Norman Solomon 4/1/1995 FAIR
It’s become a TV ritual: Every year in mid-January, around the time of Martin Luther King’s birthday, we get perfunctory network news reports about “the slain civil rights leader.”
Dr. Martin Luther King on Reconstruction
by ZINN EDUCATION PROJECT 13/1/22
We recommend reading what Dr. Martin Luther King said about Reconstruction as part of his tribute to W. E. B. Du Bois on Feb. 23, 1968. King explains that myths about Reconstruction poisoned “the collective mind of America with racism” and he describes how Du Bois set out to demolish those myths in his vital text, Black Reconstruction in America.
Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign Reborn
by Martin Luther King 11/1/18 DEMOCRACY NOW
Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned 89 years old this Jan. 15. Assassinated at the age of 39 on April 4, 1968, his much-too-short life forever changed America.
Martin Luther King's last 31 hours: the story of his final prophetic speech
by Joseph Rosenbloom 4/4/18 The Guardian
While the man who would assassinate him the next day was holed up in the New Rebel motel, hundreds of people were filtering into Mason Temple, in Memphis, Tennessee, to hear Martin Luther King Jr, speak. Outside, a thunderstorm was raging. The people clustered in the front of the church, shedding their rain-spattered jackets as they took their seats.
The Limits of Master Narratives in History Textbooks: An Analysis of Representations of Martin Luther King Jr.
During my years as a high school history teacher in the early 1990s, I observed the extent to which history textbooks often presented simplistic, one-dimensional interpretations of American history within a heroic and celebratory master narrative.
MLK Day Special: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in His Own Words
Today is the federal holiday that honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was born January 15, 1929. He was assassinated April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
MLK Day Special: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in His Own Words
by Martin Luther King 15/1/24 DEMOCRACY NOW
Today is the federal holiday that honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was born January 15, 1929. He was assassinated April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
March 26, 1964: Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X
by ZINN EDUCATION PROJECT 1961
The traditional curriculum portrays the Malcolm X and the Black Power Movement as the evil twins of the Civil Rights Movement while over simplifying the Civil Rights Movement and treating the Black Power Movement as “too hot to touch.”
Martin Luther King’s Radical Legacy, From the Poor People’s Campaign to Black Lives Matter
by Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou 15/1/17 DISSENT
“The only thing I ask is that they not take the freeways. Dr. King would never take a freeway.” So said Kasim Reed, the liberal African American mayor of Atlanta, in response to Black Lives Matter protests in King’s birth city last summer. Noted conservative talk show host Bill O’Reilly has likewise postulated with great confidence that “Dr. King would not participate in a Black Lives Matter protest.” Reed and O’Reilly were quickly lambasted for their lack of historical accuracy: Martin Luther King, Jr., of course, led the iconic 1965 march across Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge and countless other acts of disruptive civil disobedience. But their sentiment reveals our popular misunderstanding of the life and legacy of America’s favorite civil rights leader.
Remembering Dr. King's Defense of Voting Rights
by Eunice Hyon Min Rho 16/1/12 ACLU
During the summer of 1964, a coalition of civil rights groups and almost a thousand student volunteers converged in Mississippi to register African-American voters. The “Mississippi Summer Project” was met with unrelenting violence: 1,000 arrests, 35 shootings, 30 bombed buildings, 35 burned churches, 80 beatings, and at least six murders.
Martin Luther King: his life and legacy – in pictures
by Sarah Gilbert 4/4/18 The Guardian
King, front row third from left, listens to a speaker during an assembly at Morehouse College, in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1948.
March 25, 1965: Last Selma March
by ZINN EDUCATION PROJECT 25/3/1965
If it may be said of the slavery era that the white man took the world and gave the Negro Jesus, then it may be said of the Reconstruction era that the southern aristocracy took the world and gave the poor white man Jim Crow.
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. You Won’t Read About in Textbooks
by ZINN EDUCATION PROJECT 11/1/22
On January 10, the Zinn Education Project hosted historian Jeanne Theoharis in conversation with Jesse Hagopian about the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that is not found in textbooks and school curricula. This was for the Teach the Black Freedom Struggle series of classes with people’s historians.
