Sixty years ago, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. issued his resounding call for racial harmony that set off decades of push and pull toward progress. On Saturday, as civil rights leaders and their allies mark 60 years since the original March on Washington, they hope to recapture the spark that forever changed America.
The March on Washington of 1963 is remembered most for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. It was a crowning moment for the long-term civil rights activism of what is sometimes referred to as the "Black Church." In the decades before and after 1963, Black churches and denominations have had diverse priorities and political approaches.
Christine King Farris, the last living sibling of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has died. Her niece, Bernice King, tweeted that her aunt died Thursday. She was 95.
The National Park Service and the city are teaming up to restore the AG Gaston Motel built by Black entrepreneur AG Gaston. It served as a secure space for civil rights leaders to strategize in 1963.
On June 12, 1963, Evers was assassinated at his home in Jackson, Miss., by a Ku Klux Klan member. While other leaders pushed for equality across the U.S., Evers focused on his native Mississippi.
Former President Jimmy Carter and fellow Georgian Martin Luther King Jr. never met during all their time in Atlanta. But the Rev. Bernice King tells The Associated Press that Carter has been a “courageous” and “principled” figure who built on her father’s work, advancing the King family's vision of racial equality and human rights.
Jimmy Carter's grandson says the former president remains in good spirits three months after entering end-of-life care at home. Jason Carter says his grandfather follows public discussion of his legacy and even enjoys regular servings of ice cream.
We've heard about Rosa Parks and her crucial role in the Montgomery bus boycott. But Parks was just one of many women who organized for years. In this episode, those women tell their own story.
With pandemic restrictions lifted, tourists are returning to Mississippi's famous Blues Trail. Civil rights leaders are noticing some are now hungry for more context about the music's origins.
During the civil rights movement, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee developed a system of shared rides for activists in the South called the Sojourner Motor Fleet. Morning Edition's Leah Fleming interviews members Freddie Greene Biddle and Judy Richardson to talk about how the fleet was organized right out of SNCC's Atlanta headquarters.
Sparked in part by the civil rights movement, the show aimed to teach children basic skills. His hope was to "help those children who would otherwise not succeed in school, do better," he said.
The 14-year-old was killed by two white men in 1955 after a white woman accused him of flirting with her. The medal will be on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
