When Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in April 1968, LIFE magazine remembered him for his “exalted dream of freedom,” one he “died in Memphis for daring to have.” The editors’ words, wondering aloud how the civil-rights movement would fare in the absence of its most outspoken leader, still resonate today as a new chapter in American race relations continues to unfold:
King was a thoroughly good man who achieved greatness by showing forth the Negro cause at its best. His was the old American cause of equal rights for all men, and King put it in the form in which this generation of Americans must face it. His death may hinder or help that cause; perhaps both. But all of us owe him the honor of not letting ourselves distort, becloud or belittle the cause he brought to such noble purity of expression.
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and the anniversary of King’s birth on Jan. 15, 1929, here are some of the most powerful images of King made by LIFE’s photographers.
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. stands in front of a bus at the end of the Montgomery bus boycott, Montgomery, Alabama, Dec. 26, 1956. Don Cravens—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesMartin Luther King, Jr. speaks from a pulpit at a mass meeting about principles of non-violence, before leading an assembly to ride the newly integrated buses after successful boycott. Don Cravens—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesMartin Luther King Jr. speaks at the 'Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom' event at the Lincoln Memorial, 1957.Paul Schutzer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMartin Luther King, Jr. in Montgomery Alabama, 1958.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMartin Luther King Jr. holds his son Martin III as his daughter Bernice and wife Coretta greet him at the airport upon his release from Georgia State prison after his incarceration for leading boycotts, 1960.Donald Uhrbrock—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesMartin Luther King Jr. (center) speaks with Rev. Ralph Abernathy (2nd from right) and others, 1961.Paul Schutzer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMartin Luther King, Jr. addresses a rally in Detroit, 1963.Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesLeaders of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom march with signs (from R-L): Matthew Ahmann, Floyd McKissick, Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Eugene Carson Blake and unidentified.Robert W. Kelley—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMartin Luther King, Jr. speaks with President Lyndon B. Johnson during a visit to the White House, 1963.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMartin Luther King, Jr leads a prayer in a church before the second Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights march, also known as 'Turnaround Tuesday', Selma, Ala., March 1965. Frank Dandridge—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesCivil rights leaders Floyd B. McKissick, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Stokely Carmichael participate in a voter registration march after its organizer, James H. Meredith, was shot and wounded, 1966.Lynn Pelham—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMartin Luther King, Jr. sits with demonstrators who walked through Mississippi to encourage voter registration, 1966.Vernon Merritt III—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
