Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), an American Baptist Minister, was the principal leader of the civil rights movement in the United States during the 1950’s and 1960’s. His vision and courage enabled Dr. King to effectively express the demands for social justice for Blacks and other minority Americans. His dynamic and moving speeches won the support of millions of people of all races. In Lynchburg’s E.C. Glass Auditorium on March 27, 1962 Dr. King spoke to a capacity audience. Emphasizing the importance of carrying on the nonviolent attack on segregation, he stated: “One of the greatest steps you can take is the short walk to the voter’s booth.” Read a transcript of Dr. King’s Speech at E.C. Glass H.S.
Dr. King, representing the SCLC, was among the leaders of the so-called “Big Six” civil rights organizations who were instrumental in the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which took place on August 28, 1963, and was the site of his infamous “I have a dream” speech. In 1964, Dr. King became the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. He was struck down by an assassin’s bullet on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was there supporting a strike of Black sanitation workers as part of his efforts to organize the Poor People’s Campaign. In 1986, Dr. King became the only American other than George Washington to have his birthday observed as a national holiday. In 1999, Lynchburg City Council and the Lynchburg School Board voted to recognize Dr. King’s birthday as an official holiday.
Read further about Dr. King with this more extensive chronology courtesy of Stanford.
Also you can view other commemorative events and activities at the Virginia General Assembly Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission.
Henry W. Powell, an African-American living in Lynchburg during the Civil Rights movement, memoirs can read here.