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february 2016 | brparents.com 53 martin luther king, jr. (1929-68) america?s lead- er of the
civil
rights
move- ment began a legacy of lead- ership with the montgomery bus boycott and the march on washington, which helped bring about the
civil
rights
act of 1964 and the voting
rights
act of 1965. dr. king?s peaceful protests in seeking equality for
african
ameri- cans was inspired by mahat- ma gandhi, and he has forev- er inspired all of us with his ?i have a dream? speech. king was awarded the nobel peace prize of 1964 and was assassi- nated in 1968. martin luther king, jr. day was declared a federal holiday in 1983 by president ronald reagan. sojourner truth (1797-1883) was a promi- nent abolitionist and wom- en?s
rights
activist who es- caped slavery with her infant daughter after having at least three of her 13 chil- dren sold away from her. she talked about the double burden of being both black and a woman, and about the power of women to change the world. her impassioned speech, ?ain?t i a woman,? still inspires people today. to hear a stirring performance by actress kerry washington, visit brparents.com/sojourn- ertruth.html. w. e. b. dubois (1868-1963) co-founding the na acp in 1910, w. e. b. dubois was one of the most important
african
-american activists during the first half of the 20th century. dubois was the first
african
ameri- can to receive a doctorate from harvard, and in ?e souls of black folk , a collection of essays, historical stories, and poetry, dubois shined a light on the experience of black people in america that paved the way for great change. ?urgood marshall (1908-1993) before becom- ing the first
african
amer- ican u. s. supreme court justice, ?urgood marshall earned the name ?mr.
civil
rights
? as the lawyer for the na acp who argued 32 cases before the supreme court? more than any other person in history. marshall power- fully guided the litigation that destroyed the jim crow segregation laws. remembering ?ose who paved the way by r. t. ripley for all the americans who fought for freedom, took a stand, and paved the way for
civil
rights
in america, we salute them and celebrate their contributions. ?is year, we encourage you special profiles of iconic
african
americans to share the stories of these special people with your child as well as the
civil
liberties they?ve made possible and for which we all continue to advance. illustrated by dafina dervishi
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