3. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and wife, Coretta Scott King (R, w. bonnet and sunglasses) look energized as they lead demonstrators on the fourth day
of their march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. Photo by Ben Martin/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty
4. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , right, chats with Greenwood African-Americans on their front porch during his door-to-door campaign, telling all
African-Americans to register to vote and support his Miss. Freedom Democratic party. King arrived on July 21, 1964 in Greenwood for the
beginning of a 5-day tour of Mississippi towns. Photo by JAB/AP
5. Young men sing during the March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington, D.C. Photo by Bruce Davidson/Magnum
6. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers a speech at the podium in 1960. Photo by Bob Henriques/Magnum
7. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is welcomed with a kiss by his wife Coretta after leaving court in Montgomery, Ala., March 22, 1956. King was found
guilty of conspiracy to boycott city buses in a campaign to desegregate the bus system, but a judge suspended his $500 fine pending appeal.
Photo by Gene Herrick/AP
8. Two black ministers who were active in the long boycott of
segregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama,were among the first
to ride after a Supreme Court integration order went into effect on
December 21, 1956. At left, front seat, is the Rev. Ralph
Abernathy, while at left in the second seat is the Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Beside King is white minister, Rev. Glenn Smiley of
New York, who said he was in Montgomery as an observer.
Woman at right is unidentifiedAP Photo/Harold Valentine
9. Ralph Abernathy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sit pensively in Montgomery, Ala. Photo by Paul Schutzer/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty
10.
11. Through the smoke and fire from hundreds of torches walks American civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
as he arrives with his wife Coretta to deliver the traditional address at the University of Oslo Festival Hall, on Dec. 11, 1964. Behind the reverend
walks Rev. Ralph Abernathy, King’s closest associate. Photo by AP
12. Lead by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., protesters march from Selma to Montgomery to fight for black suffrage in 1965
Photo by Bruce Davidson/Magnum
14. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is greeted on his return to the United States after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize on Oct. 31, 1964 in Baltimore, Md.
Photo by Leonard Freed/Magnum
15. Men and women link arms during The March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963 in Washington, D.C. Photo by Leonard Freed/Magnum
16.
17. Dr. Martin Luther King looks at a glass door of his rented beach cottage in St. Augustine, Florida, that was shot into by someone unknown on
June 5, 1964. King took time out from conferring with St. Augustine integration leaders to inspect the house, which no one was in at the time of
the shooting AP Photo/Jim Kerlin
18. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leads a group of marchers from Selma to Montgomery to fight for black suffrage.
Photo by Bruce Davidson/Magnum
19. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Ralph Abernathy ride on one of the first desegregated buses in Montgomery, Ala., in December 1956.
20. A civil rights demonstration in Washington, D.C., in 1957. Photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum
21.
22. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gets a big welcome from several youngsters at Marion, Ala., on Feb. 5, 1965 during visit after his release from jail at
nearby Selma. Dr. King has sparked voter registration drives in both Perry and Dallas counties Photo by Horace Cort/AP
23. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. relaxes at home with his wife Coretta and their first child Yolanda in May 1956 in Montgomery, Ala.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
28. After Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is freed from prison under a $2000 appeal bond, he is greeted by his wife Coretta and children, Marty and Yoki, at the airport
in Chamblee, Georgia on October 27, 1960. Bettmann/Corbis
32. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, is seen at home with his wife Coretta in Atlanta, Ga., 1961.
Photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum
33. Dr. Martin Luther KIng, Jr. waves to supporters on Aug. 28, 1963 on the Mall in Washington D.C. (Washington Monument in background) during
the “March on Washington”. King said the march was “the greatest demonstration of freedom in the history of the United States.”
Photo by AFP/Getty
34. Leaders of March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom march with signs. (R-L) Rabbi Joachim Prinz, Eugene Carson Blake, Martin Luther King,
Floyd McKissick, Matthew Ahmann. Photo by Robert W. Kelley/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty
35. Martin Luther King Jr. pushes his young son Dexter on a swing set in their backyard, November 1960. Flip Schulke/Corbis
36. Martin Luther King Jr. serves pieces of chicken to his young sons Marty and Dexter at Sunday dinner on November 8, 1964. Flip Schulke/Corbis
37. Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on the third Monday in
January, close to the civil rights activist’s birthday on Jan. 15.
King was the leading spokesman for nonviolent activism in the
civil rights movement, advocating for the victims of injustice and
economic disadvantage and protesting racial discrimination. He
won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. The campaign for a federal
holiday in King’s honor began soon after his assassination in
1968. Congress passed the legislation, President Ronald Reagan
signed it into law in 1983, and it was first recognized three
years later. Some states resisted the holiday, giving it
alternative names, combining it with other holidays or not
observing it, and it was officially observed in all 50 states for
the first time in 2000. (AP/Yahoo News)
38. Sol-Amari Saunders, right, 7, of Manhattan, joins a march and rally in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Monday, Jan. 19, 2015 in New York.
Manhattan Country School 8th graders honored the legacy of King, by taking to the streets of Harlem to speak out about what they consider to
be the most pressing civil rights issues of their generation. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
39. Early morning light shines on the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
on the National Mall on January 19, 2015 in Washington, DC.
Visitors gather at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial to celebrate
MLK day. (Photo by Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images)
40. Renay Foster, of New York City, holds her niece Kamariyah Lambert, 6, as she closes her eyes during a prayer at a ceremony honoring MLK Day at
the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, Monday, Jan. 19, 2015, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
41. A man and a child stand near the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall on MLK Day January 19, 2015 in Washington, DC. Martin
Luther King day was marked by many celebrations across the country. (Photo by Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images)
42. WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 19: U.S. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson (2nd L) and Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser(2nd R) along with
Harry Johnson (L), President and CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation. participate in a wreath laying at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
during a ceremony on the National Mall on January 19, 2015 in Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King day was marked by many celebrations across the
country. (Photo by Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images)
43. People gather at the wreath laying ceremony at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall during MLK Day January 19, 2015 in
Washington, DC. Martin Luther King day was marked by many celebrations across the country. (Photo by Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images)
44. Thousands march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge along with members of the cast of the movie "Selma" in honor of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on
January 18, 2015 in Selma, Alabama. In 1965, King led thousands of nonviolent protestors on a march through Selma to the state capitol in a historic Civil
Rights demonstration. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
45. A member of the color guard stands with an American Flag before entering the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemorative service at the
Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached, Monday, Jan. 19, 2015, in Atlanta, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman)