Key People
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., was the eloquent voice of the modern civil rights movement. More than any other individual, he articulated the aspirations and grievances of African Americans who sought the rights promised by the U.S. Constitution.
Booker T. Washington
One of the most widely known African Americans of his time, Booker T. Washington confronted the task of devising a strategy for blacks to successfully move from slavery to citizenship, a process made more difficult by the rise in racism, discrimination, and violence characterizing the beginning of the twentieth century. Washington’s strategy focused on education, self-reliance, hard work, and economic success.
Spotlight
Executive Order 8802
Issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941, this order banned discrimination in the government and defense industries. The order was the first significant presidential action on behalf of African American civil rights since Reconstruction and established a precedent that other chief executives would follow.
Find More on Executive Order 8802
Barack Obama's Inaugural Address
Delivered on the west portico of the Capitol on January 20, 2009, Barack Obama’s inaugural address was the most anticipated political speech of the first decade of the twenty-first century. Obama delivered his inaugural address before a crowd of 1.8 million people, more than had ever before seen a president take the oath of office.
