2008 Woodie Awards
Fourty years later
How the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. is still alive
Amanda Andreen
Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: Features
It has been 14,614 days since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stepped out of his room on the second floor at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis. On his way to a dinner at the Rev. Samuel "Billy" Kyles' home with several of his political aides-only four of which whom are still alive-as history will never forget, it's no secret that MLK never made it to that dinner.
Shot by James Earl Ray, MLK's assassination devastated fellow civil rights leaders, communities, and the nation as a whole as it embarked upon a very fragile and controversial time in U.S. History.
Forty years later, MLK's legacy and dream still lives on. From his infamous words delivered to a Memphis congregation on April 3, 1968, the night before his murder: "We've got some difficult days ahead, but it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop…" MLK's ideals and hopes for America inspired generations.
In 1963, MLK's March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a milestone for all Americans and the pursuit of civil liberties, as it was a turning point in U.S. History. It was during this march in which MLK delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to more than 200,000 civil rights supporters.
MLK not only fathered the birth of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but also rallied the 1965 Voting Rights Act, both of which Lyndon B. Johnson made sure passed when he took over the role as President after the assassination of JFK.
For more information about the legacy of MLK, or to read TIME Magazine's in depth feature and interview with the surviving four political aides who were with MLK at his death, please visit "MLK: 40 Years Later" at time.com.
Additonally, to learn more about MLK, please visit thekingcenter.org, a center established by Coretta Scott King in 1968 to carry on the legacy of her husband and educate the future generations of civil rights leaders about MLK's dream.
Shot by James Earl Ray, MLK's assassination devastated fellow civil rights leaders, communities, and the nation as a whole as it embarked upon a very fragile and controversial time in U.S. History.
Forty years later, MLK's legacy and dream still lives on. From his infamous words delivered to a Memphis congregation on April 3, 1968, the night before his murder: "We've got some difficult days ahead, but it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop…" MLK's ideals and hopes for America inspired generations.
In 1963, MLK's March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a milestone for all Americans and the pursuit of civil liberties, as it was a turning point in U.S. History. It was during this march in which MLK delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to more than 200,000 civil rights supporters.
MLK not only fathered the birth of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but also rallied the 1965 Voting Rights Act, both of which Lyndon B. Johnson made sure passed when he took over the role as President after the assassination of JFK.
For more information about the legacy of MLK, or to read TIME Magazine's in depth feature and interview with the surviving four political aides who were with MLK at his death, please visit "MLK: 40 Years Later" at time.com.
Additonally, to learn more about MLK, please visit thekingcenter.org, a center established by Coretta Scott King in 1968 to carry on the legacy of her husband and educate the future generations of civil rights leaders about MLK's dream.
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