2/26/2007 - Honoring the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”…I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.” Martin Luther King Jr.

On January 15, the United States honors the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. One of the most prominent men in its history. Dr. King’s legacy of advocating civil rights for all, and his tireless efforts to bring healing to his society, remains to this day an example to all who hope for peace and harmony in the world.

Dr. King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times in appearances wherever there was injustice, protest and action. He truly brought to life, as few have done, the AFS motto of “Walk together, talk together, O peoples of the world, then and only then will you have peace.” — at a time when crossing racial divides in America was almost like crossing into another world.

Among the many honors he received was the Nobel Peace Prize. He was awarded the Nobel Prize at the age of thirty-five, the youngest man ever to be so honored. He turned over his prize money to further the ideals of the civil rights movement.

AFS joins in the celebration of Dr. King’s day and honors this great man and his tireless efforts to promote civil rights and peace.

Acknowledgements: The King Center & The Nobel Prize web sites

In the photo: AFS student Agnete Pihl (Norway 1960-61) with Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King at the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony, Oslo, Norway, December 10, 1964.