Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American
clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil
Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the
advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world,
using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.
King is often presented as a heroic leader in the history of modern
American liberalism.

A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He
led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in
1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King
delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he expanded American values to include the vision of a
color blind society, and established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history.

In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial
segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other nonviolent means. By the time
of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and stopping the Vietnam War.

King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4AItMg70kg

„………..And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply
rooted in the American dream.

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."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners
will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering
with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of
their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with
the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will
be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough
places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed
and all flesh shall see it together……….."