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MLK becomes president of the MIA
The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), was a civil rights group. Led by MLK, the MIA was responsible for the Montgomery bus boycotts, and is what brought MLK into the spotlight.
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/montgomery-improvement-association-mia -
Supreme Court rules bus segregation laws unconstitutional
Thanks to MLK and the MIA, the Supreme Court rules that the bus segregation laws in Montgomery and Alabama are unconstitutional.
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-resources/major-king-events-chronology-1929-1968 -
SCLC is founded
MLK and other black civil rights activists found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. This organization fought for desegregation in schools throughout the south, and played key roles in the March on Washington, among other events.
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/civilrights/sclc.htm -
"Give us the Ballot" Speech given
MLK's first national address is given at the Lincoln Monument in Washington, D.C. In his speech, King sought to hold the government accountable as he ensures voting rights.
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/give-us-ballot-address-delivered-prayer-pilgrimage-freedom -
King meets with Eisenhower
MLK among other civil rights leaders meet with president Eisenhower in Washington to discuss discrimination.
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/king-and-other-civil-rights-leaders-meet-president-eisenhower-hold-press-conference -
King is arrested for sit-in
King was arrested for participating in a sit-in in an Atlanta department store lunch counter. He is sentenced to 6 months of hard labor before being helped set free by John F. Kennedy.
https://calendar.eji.org/racial-injustice/oct/19 -
King meets with JFK
Martin Luther King Jr. meets with President Kennedy in a plea for him to issue a 2nd emancipation proclamation.
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-resources/major-king-events-chronology-1929-1968 -
"I Have a Dream" Speech
Following the March on Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
Afterwards, King and other civil rights leaders meet with president Kennedy at the White House.
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-resources/major-king-events-chronology-1929-1968