His Struggle

On Dec. 21, 1956, King rode the first desegregated bus in Montgomery, Ala. His leadership of a black boycott drew national attention to the city's segregated facilities.

In 1965 Martin Luther King, Jr., center front, led a march in Alabama from Selma to the capital at Montgomery to petition for black voting rights in that state.

“I Have A Dream”

On Aug. 28, 1963, King was the principal speaker at a giant civil rights march on Washington. His eloquent "I Have a Dream" address was the high point of the demonstration.

I say to you today my friends - 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 say to you today my friends - 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 Martin Luther King, Jr., shown giving his " I have a dream " speech in Washington, D.C., in 1963, was one of the great public speakers of the late 20th century.

…….when we allow freedom ring - when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children - black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics - will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

I Have a Dream The keynote speech at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, King gave the address from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to about 250,000 people assembled before him. The speech was also broadcast on TV and published in newspapers. Since 1963, King's " I Have a Dream " speech has become the most famous public address of 20th century America. The immediate effect of the speech also shaped American history.

Julian Bond, a fellow participant in the civil rights movement and student of King, would write, "King's dramatic 1963 'I Have a Dream' speech before the Lincoln Memorial cemented his place as first among equals in civil rights leadership; from this first televised mass meeting, an American audience saw and heard the unedited oratory of America's finest preacher, and for the first time, a mass white audience heard the undeniable justice of black demands”.

A Long March

Black minority is in many countries. Black Americans traveled a long hard road to obtain their civil rights. Dr Martin Luther King served as leader during the march of the civil rights movement. He believed in the nonviolent protest as a means to achieve recognition and rights for all black Americans. Despite the peaceful tactics, demonstrators often bore the brunt and brutal confrontation.

In Aug. 1963, more than 200,000 marchers, both black and white took their case to the nation’s capital. Over the next two years, Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, reaffirming the rights of black citizens.

A Piece of Internet News Jan. 15, 2000 USA TODAY

MLK birthday celebration begins WASHINGTON- Amid a backdrop of the famed Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his ''I Have a Dream Speech'' some 36 years ago, officials in the nation's capital paused Friday to remember the slain civil rights leader on the eve of his birthday.

Friday’s celebration in Washington is one of hundreds that will take place around country through Monday. Perhaps the biggest events will be in Atlanta, King’s former home. In addition to a service summit at the King Center, a march in King’s honor Monday will be led by Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes and Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell.

The End