Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.?

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism and death.



King “showed people the power of words, not fists” (73). In 1964, he received the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded to people who have contributed to the cause for world peace. King knew that this award belonged to all the people who fought nonviolently for civil rights, and he donated the prize money to civil rights organizations.

Bader notes that the Nobel Prize was named after Alfred B. Nobel, a Swedish chemist and engineer who invented dynamite. In his will, in 1896, he left $9 million to establish the prize. Every year, the prize is awarded in six categories: literature, peace, physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology, and economics. In addition to King, Nobel Peace Prize winners include Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, and Mother Teresa.

King knew that the US had not yet achieved the goal of equality. He directed his attention to Selma, Alabama, where only 1% of Black people were registered to vote. The voting office was open only a few hours per day, and the literacy tests were extremely hard in order to impede people from voting.