Martin Luther King Day commemorates the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr., the influential American civil rights leader. King is most renowned for his campaigns to end racial segregation on public transport and for racial equality in the USA. His most famous address was the "I Have A Dream" speech and it is often cited as one of the most influential speeches ever made.
To celebrate his life why not learn more about his life, the American Civil Rights Movement, speech-making and explore more perspectives on race, racism and ethnicity in our hub.
Find out more about Martin Luther king and the Civil Right's Movement on OpenLearn
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How radical was Martin Luther King?
His message on civil rights was unequivocal - but Paul Harvey argues that in Martin Luther King's economic and social message was his greatest claim to radicalism.
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The American Civil Rights Movement
In this free course, The American Civil Rights Movement, you will learn about the mass movement for racial equality in the United States that reached its zenith during the 1950s and 1960s. During this turbulent period in United States history, black Americans sought to overturn deeply entrenched systems of racial segregation and ...
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Historical perspectives on race
Race is not biological. It is a social construction. Yet we know that in our contemporary world and in history, this construction has real consequences. From enslavement and colonisation to resistance and revolution, the stories of people of colour are often left untold in accounts of the past. This free course, Historical perspectives on race, ...
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Speeches and speech-making
This free course, Speeches and speech-making, explores an aspect of language use where 'voices' and 'texts' converge: the art of speech-making.
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How did Aretha Franklin inspire the civil rights movement?
Aretha Franklin's death in 2018 saw the loss not just of a sublime singer, but also one of key figures in the US Civil Rights movement. Leah Kardos pays tribute.
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Race and Ethnicity Hub
Check out our FREE resources - from articles to courses - that explore the themes of race, racism and ethnicity.
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Article reviews
'J'ai un reve' was the display in a French church in Normandie in 2004 with pictures of Martin Luther King. It is good to know that people around the world have been inspired by the speech of this great leader.
Meg Gilks - 10 October 2018 1:45pm
This speech is still motivating years after it was spoken by Rev Martin Luther King. The repetition emphasised the title, reinforcing the message. A message contained in a dream which years later bacme reality However around the world, South Africa for example, the dream is still to be fulfilled.