Martin Luther King

This passage discusses Martin Luther King Jr. and his efforts in the Civil Rights Movement.

Lexile Level: 1450L

Categories: History People & Places

For many people, the name Martin Luther King is closely associated with the American civil rights movement of the 1960s. While Dr. King did much to bring the United States closer to racial equality, his efforts and concerns extended well beyond the minority population and beyond the American borders. Dr. King thought that there was no excuse for poverty to be prevalent among any population or in any realm of the globe in the twentieth century. He held up civil disobedience as a model for bringing about changes in unfair cultural structures such as the "separate but equal" policies of the southern United States that denied minority access to certain facilities and services. His "I Have a Dream" speech, which painted a world of true equality and harmony, is one of the most famous speeches in American history. Dr. King's life came to a sudden and tragic end when he was assassinated in 1968, but his legacy and spirit live on wherever people fight for social justice.