Martin Luther King Jr., born Michael King Jr. (1929 -1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. King is best known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, inspired by his Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi. King participated in and led marches for blacks’ right to vote, desegregation, labour rights, and other basic civil rights. He was the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
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