King was awarded at least fifty honorary degrees from colleges and universities in the U.S. and elsewhere.[202][203] Besides winning the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, in 1965 King was awarded the American Liberties Medallion by the American Jewish Committee for his "exceptional advancement of the principles of human liberty".[203][204] Reverend King said in his acceptance remarks, "Freedom is one thing. You have it all or you are not free".[205] King was also awarded the Pacem in Terris Award, named after a 1963 encyclical letter by Pope John XXIII calling for all people to strive for peace.[206]
In 1966, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America awarded King the Margaret Sanger Award for "his courageous resistance to bigotry and his lifelong dedication to the advancement of social justice and human dignity."[207] King was posthumously awarded the Marcus Garvey Prize for Human Rights by Jamaica in 1968.[202]
In 1971, King was posthumously awarded the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for his Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam.[208] Six years later, the Presidential Medal of Freedom was awarded to King by Jimmy Carter.[209] King and his wife were also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.[210]
King was second in Gallup's List of Widely Admired People in the 20th century.[211] In 1963 King was named Time Person of the Year and in 2000, King was voted sixth in the Person of the Century poll by the same magazine.[212] King was elected third in the Greatest American contest conducted by the Discovery Channel and AOL.[213]
More than 730 cities in the United States have streets named after King.[214] King County, Washington rededicated its name in his honor in 1986, and changed its logo to an image of his face in 2007.[215] The city government center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is named in honor of King.[216] King is remembered as a martyr by the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (feast day April 4)[217][218] and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (feast day January 15).[219]
In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Martin Luther King, Jr. on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.[220] source- wikipedia online
I also read that he skipped 9th and 12th grades and entered college at age 15. He did all of this in 39 years. Most couldn't even begin to do all of this if they lived to be 100.
I was growing up during all of this happening. Assassinations, vietnam, riots...and all in the name of peace. It was a crazy time in our country.
2 comments:
You know, I don't really "remember" much about him, I was just 10 when he was murdered. But I did a lot of reading about him and all that he did, and ofcourse saw a lot on tv later. He sure WAS an amazing man with wonderful ideas and dreams. And to see how much he accomplished later... even after his death his dreams are still dreamed by so many.
Hugs from Marian
I'm with you, Tete- I remember it all...the sadness.Camelot lost..Bobby Kennedy...the frenzy...the unrest and distrust...Vietnam..Equality...we had so many causes back then...and we protested and stood up for what we beleived in. Our generation changed the world in many ways. I don't see that same passion in this generation...at least not for the same things.
Thank you for this tribute..may we never forget the cost of what we have today. Hugs- Diana
Post a Comment