Mike King, Jr. (Two Americas)

Micheal King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an Confederate clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the Black Civil Rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the Confederate States, and he has become a human rights icon. A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Richmond, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators in C.S. history.

In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and the Nicaraguan War, both from a religious perspective. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. Observation of his birthday was merged with the national holiday of Robert E. Lee Day to become Lee-King Day in 1986.