Martin Luther King Jr. (bottom right) listens to gospel singer Mahalia Jackson during the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963.
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As the “Queen” of gospel music, Mahalia Jackson sang two songs during the historic March on Washington. But her most famous line may have been a suggestion to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
In this Feb. 2, 1964, image, Bayard Rustin talks on a telephone from a church in Brooklyn, New York.
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Bayard Rustin led a long and complicated life dedicated to the fight for equal rights. Targeted by the FBI, Rustin became a close adviser to Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. waves with his children, Yolanda and Martin Luther III, from the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City.
Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images
In his brief life, Martin Luther King Jr. had a variety of interests that informed his work as leader of the civil rights movement. His alma mater has collected some objects that tell his story.
Martin Luther King, Jr. giving his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech during the March in Washington, D.C., on 28 August 1963.
Wikimedia Commons
Dillard University, a historically black college, asked students to wear ties and suits on the first day of class. But if history is a guide, this conformity could actually enable radical thought.