"I HAVE A DREAM"
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in 1929. He was a clergyman, activist and leader in the
African-American Civil Rights Movement. He was a man with a dream to set
African-Americans free of unfair laws in a non-violent manner.
On August 28, 1963, he organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was here that
Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I have a dream" speech in front of 250,000 people on the
steps of the Lincoln Memorial in our nation's capital. The speech called for an end to racism in the
United States. It was said to be one of the defining moments of the American Civil Right Movement.
On October 14, 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality
through non-violence. After he received the Nobel Peace Prize, he continued to help organize
other marches and focus on poverty and the Vietnam War.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel
in Memphis Tennessee at the age of 39. James Earl Ray, a fugitive from the Missouri State Penitentiary, was charged with King's murder. He left behind his wife, Coretta Scott-King, and four children.