January 15

Photo+via+Wikimedia+Commons+under+Creative+Commons+License

Photo via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons License

Audreyann Rasimowicz, Editor

1929- Martin Luther King Jr. Was Born

 

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Martin Luther King Jr. was not only the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize, but was the author of the famous ‘I Had A Dream’ speech. Two hundred and fifty thousand people gathered around the Lincoln Memorial to hear the speech. King also helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the first protest of the African-American civil rights movement. The civil rights movement had its two greatest accomplishments in 1964- The ratification of the 24th amendment (which abolished poll tax) and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This prohibited racial discrimination in employment and education and outlawed racial segregation in public facilities- for example, it outlawed segregation in schools, restaurants and job sites. All thanks to Martin Luther King Jr. Unfortunately, King was assassinated in Tennessee on April 4, 1968.

 

(Taken from: www.history.com/this-day-in-history)