MLK Day

2 Comments January 15, 2007 1624 Views

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Martin Luther King Jr.

Here in the US, January 15th is celebrated as Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

If you’re not from the US, you might not know who he is. Martin Luther King Jr. was the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, in Montgomery, Alabama and a famous African-American Civil Right activist. He is famous for his speech entitled, “I Have A Dream” which he made in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He also spoke out strongly against the US’s role in the Vietnam war.

Short biography of Martin Luther King Jr. (Wikipedia)

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was a famous leader of the American civil rights movement, a political activist, and a Baptist minister. In 1964, King became the youngest man to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (for his work as a peacemaker, promoting nonviolence and equal treatment for different races). On April 4, 1968, Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1977, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Jimmy Carter. In 1986, Martin Luther King Day was established as a United States holiday, only the fourth Federal holiday to honor an individual (the other three being in honor of Jesus of Nazareth, George Washington, and Christopher Columbus). In 2004, King was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. He was known as a great public speaker. Dr. King often called for personal responsibility in fostering world peace. King’s most influential and well-known public address is the “I Have A Dream” speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C..

Below is a video of that famous speech.

Martin Luther King Jr. was later assassinated at 6:01 p.m. April 4, 1968, on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s Hospital at 7:05 p.m

Inspite of his death, his legacy continues. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most widely revered figures in American history. In a 2005 televised call-in poll, people voted King as the third greatest American, following Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln. King is one of the ten 20th-century martyrs from across the world who are depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey, London.

Visit Martin Luther King Jr. Day website
Visit Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial website
Visit The King Center website