Black History Month

An annual event that honors and celebrates the achievements of African American men and women throughout history.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Christian minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King was assassinated in 1968. He is best known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, inspired by his Christian beliefs.

Did you know that Martin Luther King Jr. improvised the most iconic part of his “I Have a Dream” speech?

On August 28, 1963, 250,000 Americans united at the Lincoln Memorial for the final speech of the March on Washington. As Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the podium, he eventually pushed his notes aside. The night before the march, Dr. King began working on his speech with a small group of advisers in the lobby of the Willard Hotel. The original speech was more political and less historic, according to Clarence B. Jones, and it did not include any reference to dreams.

After delivering the now famous line, at the march, “we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” Dr. King transformed his speech into a sermon. It is now recognized as one of the greatest speeches in American history!