● Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday

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"Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam" -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love. -Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the civil rights movement in the USA. King led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, spoke out against the Vietnam War, and his efforts led to the March on Washington (August 28, 1963), where he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. In 1964, he became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through non-violent means, including civil disobedience. Dr. King raised public consciousness and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history. He was a chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism and protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. After he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and opposing the Vietnam War, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.

In 1977, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. national holiday in 1986.

The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination, was signed into law in 1983, and was first observed in 1986, but was not officially observed by all 50 states until the year 2000.

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Vietnam War (1968)

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