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Encyclopedia.com King, Martin Luther Jr. 1929-1968 Martin Luther
King, Jr. 1929-1968 Civil rights leader In the years since his
assassination on April 4, 1968, as he stood on the balcony of
the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, Martin Luther King,
Jr., has evolved from a prominent civil rights leader into the
symbol for the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. He is
studied by schoolchildren of all backgrounds; his words are
quoted by the powerless and the powerful, by anyone who has a
dream to make her or his life better, to better the nation, or
the world. Monuments have been dedicated in his honor and
institutions such as the Center for Nonviolent Social Change in
Atlanta, which bears his name, have been established to carry on
his work. In 1986, the U.S. Congress made King unique among
twentieth-century Americans by designating hi