|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
While there were many key figures in the Civil Rights Movement, no individual is more closely tied with this movement than Martin Luther King.
King first came to national attention during the 1950s with his involvement in the 1955 Montgomery bus strike, but it was not until the 1960s that he became the living embodiment of the Civil Rights Movement.
The King-led demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 were the catalyst for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was also in 1963 that King delivered the unforgettable "I have a dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. That same year, King was named as Time Magazine's Man of the Year. The following year he would be honored with the Nobel Peace Prize.
As the decade of the 1960s progressed, King not only continued to speak out on racial issues, but was also a key figure in the anti-war movement.
In 1968, just one day after delivering his "I've been to the Mountaintop" speech, King was gunned down by an assassin.
"I've been to the mountaintop," King said in that speech. "I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land."
|
|
|
|
|
|
