Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

January 15, 2017, marks what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s eighty-eighth birthday. To commemorate the event and honor this important leader of the civil rights movement, a selection of five images that document his remarkable life are on view outside of the Greene Family Learning Gallery.

Dr. King came to prominence as a civil rights leader during the 1955–1956 bus boycotts in Montgomery, Alabama. The following year, he moved to Atlanta and became head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

The High Museum of Art’s extensive civil rights photography collection features photographs of the struggle for freedom and equality and includes a number of photographs of Dr. King (American, 1929–1968). This selection of images depicts popular representations of Dr. King—delivering speeches and leading marches—but also a more personal side of the leader at home enjoying time with his family.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.