Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and social activist who led the civil rights movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s.
He organized several peaceful protests as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, to fight racial injustices.
Many recognize him for his famous “I Have a Dream” speech delivered on August 28, 1963.
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant,” said King.
King grew up in the Auburn Avenue community of Atlanta, home to some of the largest and most prosperous Black businesses and churches in the years before the Civil Rights Movement.
Young Martin received a solid education within a flourished loving middle-class family.
His good fortune, however, did not prevent him from experiencing the detriment in the South.
His significance was heavily influenced by his father, a church pastor, who King saw stand up to segregation in his daily life. In 1964, Martin won a Nobel Peace Prize and was the youngest person to do so. Before his death on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr successfully ended segregation.
Hampton Roads hosted a “Martin Luther King Story Walk” from January 13 through February 13 in Smithfield.
