Happy Martin Luther King, jr. day!

Martin Luther King inspired hundreds of thousands of people in the United States into actions against racism, to end poverty, and for peace. Early December 1955, he led the first great non-violent protests of African Americans in a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. The boycott lasted 382 days and ended after the US Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public buses was unconstitutional. In spring 1963, King and the student movement organised mass demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama. The police officials responded violently and King was arrested for organizing sit-in demonstrations. In his 'Letter from the Birmingham jail', he puts the struggle against injustice in Birmingham in the broader context of the United States. He writes: "Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."