“There is a really important role that spirituality is playing among millennials and contemporary activists,” says Sarah Jackson, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston and an expert on social movements. But “it is a spirituality that is not necessarily tied to the formal structures of church organization, and it doesn’t necessarily require a certain type of leadership.” More →

“We were willing to be beaten for democracy,” says Rev. C.T. Vivian, recalling the freedom movement and voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery in March 1965. It was, he says, “the beginning of the transformation of America.” More →

"The church had been waking up to the need for race reform in the post-war era," says Georgia State University history professor Glenn Eskew. "The change had been slow among the establishment within the churches from the top down, but from the seminarians, the young people from the bottom up—they embraced the movement. They embraced the idea of racial change." More →

As the movie opens today (January 9) in theaters around the country amidst controversy over its portrayal of former president Lyndon Johnson, we speak with director Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo, the actor who portrays Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., about what it means to them to tell the story of the historic 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. More →

The civil rights movement was both “the work of the Lord and the work of freedom,” says author Taylor Branch. “It took redemption, and it took faith and tenacity, not just an empty, simple hope.” More →

Recent events such as the shooting death of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent trial of George Zimmerman have highlighted racial divides that still exist in the U.S. 50 years after the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In the wake of the shooting, local black and white pastors in Sanford, Florida are taking a hard look at what more they can do to promote dialogue, understanding, and racial reconciliation. More →

KIM LAWTON, correspondent: At the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham, Alabama, local students are on a field trip, learning how 50 years ago, kids around their age played a pivotal role in the struggle against segregation. One of them was … More →

“American politics is broken today, and Dr. King’s message, his life, his values and virtues can offer us a strategy for healing what is broken.” More →

We ask some of the first visitors to the MLK Memorial on the National Mall to share their thoughts on its significance and on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. More →

During the Montgomery bus boycott "it was black Christians teaching white Christians what it mean to be Christian," says a white Lutheran pastor who joined with Martin Luther King Jr. and others to change the world. More →

"I think King would make a case for the principles and practices of nonviolence even in settling disputes between nations," says Cheryl Sanders, professor of Christian ethics at Howard University School of Divinity and senior pastor at Third Street Church of God in Washington, DC. More →

Fifty years ago at the beginning of America’s civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. went to India to walk in the footsteps of one of his heroes, Mohandas Gandhi. Dr. King was strongly influenced by Gandhi’s teachings of nonviolent resistance. Recently, Dr. King’s son and many civil rights veterans revisited India to honor both King and Gandhi. More →

Connections between Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr. are inevitable. Some see the presidential inauguration as a testament to the sacrifice of Reverend King and a as powerful expression of hope. More →

If Dr. King were alive today, would he be campaigning for economic justice, or might he be a social conservative opposing abortion, or both? Kim Lawton has our report on the very different ways African-American ministers are trying to carry on the King legacy. More →

Six prominent African American ministers remember the life and death of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and describe his influence on their lives, their ministries, and society at large. More →

A collection of Martin Luther King Jr.’s personal papers - including handwritten drafts of his famous “I Have a Dream” speech - are for sale. Sotheby’s curator Elizabeth Muller gave Kim Lawton a private glimpse of the collection. More →

The role of pastor may be one of the most overlooked sides of Martin Luther King Jr. But it was one of the most important aspects of who he was. More →

Read the funeral tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta by Methodist theologian L. Harold DeWolf. More →

"Dr. King liked jazz," says Rev. Michael Haynes of Twelfth Baptist Church in Boston, "I think music is just a wonderful opportunity to bring humans together. And what it did in the civil rights movement - it was the means through which they got inspiration and challenge." Rev. Haynes invited his brother, renowned jazz drummer Roy Haynes, to be part of a special musical service honoring King. More →

Read excerpts from Reflections on "Our Pastor: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church," a compilation of the recollections of 34 parishioners who were members of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was their pastor from 1954 to 1960. More →