What is the History of Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

3. Civil Rights Milestones

King's first major success was organizing the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. African-Americans and their white supporters refused to ride the buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregation. This would eventually lead to a court case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ordered Montgomery to desegregate its buses.

King continued to organize protests throughout the 1950s and 1960s, but his most famous one may be the March on Washington. The march attracted 250,000 supporters, and King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, which is considered one of the most famous speeches in American history. The event garnered massive support, and just one year later the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed to make racial discrimination and segregation illegal.