This week, Camilo José Vergara will become the first photographer ever to receive the National Humanities Medal. He writes for LightBox about his dedicated, meticulous approach in documenting some of the poorest and most segregated communities in urban America.

For more than 30 years, photographer and sociologist Camilo José Vergara has documented murals of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in America's inner cities. Here, Vergara writes for LightBox about the roles King's image has played in American culture.