50 Ways to Honor Dr. King on the 50th Anniversary of His Death

Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.

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50 Ways to Honor Dr. King on the 50th Anniversary of His Death

Posted to Politics April 03, 2018 by Jevon Collins

Fifty years ago, on April 4, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis. King helped organize the largest call for civil rights in our nation’s history. With his emphasis on nonviolent resistance, the country saw the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. On this historic anniversary, we’ve compiled a list of 50 ways to honor the work of Martin Luther King Jr.

ACT TO CONTINUE HIS LEGACY

1. Learn about his life, read his words, journey through his archives.

2. Understand the primary characteristics of nonviolent resistance.

3. Join the King Arts Complex 60 Seconds For Peace initiative to inspire reflection on the exact moment when 50 years earlier King was assassinated.

4. Share your dream with the world, just as King shared his many dreams he shared with the world.

5. Join the conversation on Twitter and choose #nonviolence365.

6. Commit to a year of peace and actionwith the National Civil Rights Museum. They’ll send you 50 achievable actions to help realize Dr. King’s legacy of peace.

7. Watch the most critically-acclaimed documentary on civil rights with PBS’s “Eyes on the Prize.”

8. Short on time? Watch PBS’s “Roads To Memphis,” the story of King’s assassination, airing on April 3.

9. Listen to songs of protest and progress.

10. Enjoy a clip of King accepting the Nobel Peace Prize.

TRAVEL TO REMEMBER HIS LEGACY

11. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington. While you’re there, take a short walk to the Lincoln Memorial. There, you’ll see where King stood when he gave his 1963 “I Have a Dream Speech.”

12. Visit the newest exhibition at the National Museum of African American History & Culture, which honors King’s legacy and his struggle for economic justice.

13. Farther south? Visit the church where King helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Alabama.

14. Travel to Atlanta and visit the birth home of Dr. King, The King Center and Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King was baptized and ordained a minister.

15. Visit the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis for special presentations and extended hours during the 50th anniversary of King’s assassination.

16. Plan an entire week in Memphis with all of the events honoring King.

17. Or, plan a trip of your own with this map of Civil Rights hot spots.

18. If you can’t visit a historical site, take a virtual tour of the National Portrait Gallery to see a rare collection of King photographs.

19. Travel internationally via National Geographic to see some of the streets around the world that honor King.

20. Or, travel back through time and learn about ten famous nonviolent protests in history.

READ TO REFLECT ON HIS LEGACY

21. Martin Luther King, Jr. was best known for encouraging nonviolent resistance. Read the ways in which this strategy was practicedin the Civil Rights Movement.

22. Just how radical was King and his nonviolent strategy? One professor weighs in.

23. King’s final speech before his assassination, I’ve Been To The Mountaintop.

24. King sharing his dream is one of the most famous speeches in American history.

25. While imprisoned in Birmingham, he wrote a letter explaining why he protested.

26. He discussed the plight of the economically impoverished in “The Other America.”

27. And the reasons for opposing the Vietnam War.

28. Read a book to children about King or his beliefs.

29. Serious readers can check out the definitive King trilogy.

30. Or the Pulitzer-prize winning work by historian David Garrow.

GIVE TO HONOR HIS LEGACY

31. Give of your time and volunteer.

32. Read books to the public — a local library or senior center.