Dr. Martin Luther King devoted his life to resolving the civil rights movement through non-violent peaceful means. From his early studies at school, he was influenced by the peaceful teachings of Henry David Thoreau and Mahatma Gandhi.
Martin Luther King was a powerful leader who practiced what he preached. Dr. King participated with a group of protestors on a march and when faced with what could have been a violent situation, he led them to kneel down and pray.
His powerful thoughts and messages have been preserved throughout the years and the thread of peace consistently runs through each and every one of them.
In 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. was the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent work in the civil rights movement. After his death, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.