By Joshua J. Darling, Sports Information Director
LAGRANGE, Ga. – On this day, we not only pause to reflect upon the life of one of the most influential individuals in our nation's history but look to carry on his teachings as we recognize the National Day of Service that is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
THE IMPORTANCE OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING
As Told By The History Channel
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a social activist and Baptist minister who played a key role in the American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968. King sought equality and human rights for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged and all victims of injustice through peaceful protest. He was the driving force behind watershed events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington, which helped bring about such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and is remembered each year on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a U.S. federal holiday since 1986.
CARRYING ON DR. KING'S LEGACY
While Dr. King was taken from us on April 4, 1968, his legacy has lived on and will continue to. A large reason for this is the efforts of his wife, Coretta Scott King, in the founding of The King Center in 1968 following her husband's death, and those of his daughter, Bernice King, in the running the Center as CEO since 2009.
The Center includes the Freedom Hall Complex and is housed inside of a 23-acre national historic park, which includes Dr. King's birth home, in Atlanta, Georgia. Designed as "a living memorial filled with all the vitality that was his, a center of human endeavor, committed to the causes for which he lived and died,", the Center continues to achieve that goal with nearly one million visitors a year as a global destination and resource center.
To learn more about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., The King Center and how you can make a difference and help carry on his legacy, please visit their website at www.TheKingCenter.org.
