Martin Luther King Jr.

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remembering
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

Flashback: Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' Speech

Historic images and audio clips from the 1963 address that electrified an entire nation. Watch

The Torch Carrier: An Interview with Martin Luther King III

"In a sense," he tells AARP, "this memorial will globalize my father's legacy." read

Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

MLK's Living Legacy: How He Is Still Changing the World

Honoring the man who dared to dream. Watch

martin luther king jr.
THOSE HE INSPIRED

Faces of the Freedom Rides: Ten Who Went, Then and Now

In 1961, civil rights activists began boarding buses and trains to beat Jim Crow. read

Photo of three high school students from Deland, Florida organizing for Civil Rights activities

How Lunch Counter Sit-Ins Spread to DeLand, Florida

In 1960 three high school classmates said, "Let's go downtown and take a seat." Watch

Belva Davis: pioneering black female journalist

The Trailblazer

Belva Davis, the nation's first female African-American TV news reporter, talks about her journey on the front lines of history. Watch

martin luther king jr.
in words and images

Images of Change

Bruce Davidson talks about the civil rights movement of the 1960s and how he sought, as a photojournalist, to document it. Watch

Taylor Branch's At Canaan's Edge

After eight years of work, Pulitzer Prize winning historian Taylor Branch finally finished his third and final volume covering the final years of Martin Luther King Jr. The book was worth the wait. Listen

A Commitment to Nonviolence

What drove King to speak out against the Vietnam War — and incur the fury of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Listen

The Stalking of MLK

A discussion of "Hellhound on His Trail," a book by Hampton Sides about the worldwide hunt for Martin Luther King's assassin. Listen

martin luther king jr.
tributes

A. Barry Rand, CEO, AARP

"Today, at a time of high unemployment and widespread economic pain in our country, his example can once more light the way for us."
Read the Essay

Chris Gardner, AARP's Ambassador of Pursuit and Happyness

"Passages in this speech still shape the lives and destinies of people everywhere. This is because the dream exhorts us to be our best."
Read the Essay

Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, Executive VP, AARP

"To me, King's legacy transcends that of a tribute or memorial. His likeness may be in stone but his message lives in our social DNA."
Read the Essay