Martin Luther King
/ˌmɑːtɪn ˌluːθə ˈkɪŋ/
/ˌmɑːrtn ˌluːθər ˈkɪŋ/
- (1929-68) the most important leader of the US civil rights movement. King was an African American Baptist minister who led a series of peaceful campaigns against segregation in the southern states. In 1957 he established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1963 he led about 250 000 people on a protest march to Washington, DC, where he made his famous 'I have a dream' speech at the Lincoln Memorial. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for peace in 1964. He was murdered four years later in Memphis, Tennessee, by Earl Ray. King's wife, Coretta Scott King (1927-2006) continued his work. His birthday, 15 January, is an official holiday in many states.“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal.”