Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. with Florida Tech

On the third Monday in January, we celebrate the birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. King advocated for nonviolent protests and activism to achieve desegregation and equality, and is considered one of the most influential members of the civil rights movement. In 1964, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to fight inequality through nonviolence and civil disobedience.

Tragically, King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee days before President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968. In 1982, 14 years after his death, King’s birthday was made a federal holiday, but not without opposition. It would take another 14 years before the day was celebrated by all 50 states.

This Thursday, Florida Tech will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. with a special presentation of his “I have a Dream” speech, given by Leonard Ross. The event will be held at 7 p.m. in the Hartley Room on the second floor of the Denius Student Center, and is free for faculty, staff, students, and community.  For those who can’t make it to the presentation, the full text of “I Have a Dream” is on display in Evans Library.