MLK Milestones

1929

Born in Atlanta

1948

Graduates from Morehouse College in Atlanta

1951

Graduates from Crozer Theological Seminary

1954

Supreme Court rules racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional
(Brown v. Board of Education)

1955

Supreme Court orders desegregation of public schools
Earns Ph.D. from Boston University
Rosa Parks is arrested on Montgomery bus
Leads protest involving Rosa Parks, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott begins

1956

Supreme Court rules bus segregation unconstitutional

1957

Becomes president of new Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
Featured on Time Magazine cover
Delivers his first national address, “Give Us The Ballot”
Congress passes Civil Rights Act of 1957

1959

Visits India to study nonviolent tactics, meets Gandhi’s family

1960

President Eisenhower signs Civil Rights Act of 1960 covering voter registration

1961

Negotiates for Freedom Riders
Segregation in interstate travel formally banned
Makes his only visit to Seattle

1963

Writes his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Meets with President John F. Kennedy
Delivers “I Have a Dream” speech at Lincoln Memorial to 250,000 people at the
March on Washington

1964

Time Magazine “Man of the Year”
Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed into law
Receives Nobel Peace Prize, youngest person ever

1965

1965 Voting Rights Act signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson
Marches from Selma to Montgomery and is arrested

1966

Leads demonstrations in Chicago
Leads “March against Fear” from Memphis to Jackson

1967

Thurgood Marshall appointed first black on U.S. Supreme Court

1968

Organizes (with the SCLC) the “Poor People’s Campaign” on Washington
Leads striking sanitation workers in a march in Memphis
Delivers his last speech,“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”
Assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis
More than 300,000 people march with his coffin through Atlanta

1977

Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter

1983

Dr. King’s birthday declared a federal holiday by President Ronald Reagan

2004

Awarded a Congressional Gold Medal

2011

Dedication of Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial