Martin Luther King, Jr. relaxes at home with his family in May 1956 in Montgomery, Alabama with his newborn baby and wife. (Michael Ochs Archives, (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images))
We celebrate Martin Luther King Day around the time of the activist’s January birthday, which is Jan. 15.
Monday marks Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, officially, for 2024.
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As we all know, King was a civil rights leader and an inspiration to so many Black Americans who were fighting for human rights.
His “I Have A Dream” speech has gone down in history as a moment of unity and hope for the future, but that wasn’t the only moment in which he inspired change.
Take a look back at his extraordinary life through photos.
Martin Luther King Jr. hugging his wife, Coretta. ((Photo by LGI Stock/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images))
King was the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He is shown wearing his vestments in 1953. ((Photo by Michael Evans/New York Times Co./Getty Images))
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Reverend Ralph Abernathy are shown "integrating" one of the first buses in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. (Getty Images.)
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and his wife, Coretta Scott King, speak to reporters on the steps of the Montgomery County Court House before the opening of his trial in the 1950s. (Getty Images.)
Martin Luther King, Jr. relaxes at home in May 1956 in Montgomery, Alabama. ((Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images))
Martin Luther King, Jr. relaxes at home with his family in May 1956 in Montgomery, Alabama, with his baby and wife. ((Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images))
Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers a sermon on May 13, 1956, in Montgomery, Alabama. ((Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images))
A back view of Martin Luther King, Jr., dressed in black robes and holding out his hands toward the thousands of people who have gathered to hear him speak near the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. during the Prayer Pilgrimage. ((Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images))
Police Chief Laurie Prichett tells King and Dr. W. G. Anderson that they are under arrest after they could not produce a permit to parade in 1961 in Georgia. (Getty Images)
Martin Luther King Jr. is seen in a news conference at the A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1962. ((Photo by Ernst Haas/Ernst Haas/Getty Images))
King addresses the crowd on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the historic March on Washington in 1963. ((Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images))
King delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the Freedom March on Washington in 1963. (Getty Images.)
King and his wife pose for a portrait in 1964. ((Photo courtesy of Library of Congress/Getty Images.))
King is interviewed by a news reporter at the conclusion of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights March on March 25, 1965 in Montgomery, Alabama. ((Photo by Stephen F. Somerstein/Getty Images))
King heads toward Jackson, Mississippi on the March Against Fear, June 9, 1966. (2018 Getty Images)
A look at King's funeral after he was assassinated. (Getty Images.)
This story was first published in 2021. It has since been updated.
Jack is a Digital Content Editor with a degree in creative writing and French from Western Michigan University. He specializes in writing about movies, food and the latest TV shows.
