Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute

Learn more about Dr. Lafayette's work with King:

Photograph of Bernard Lafayette by Representative Terri A. Sewell.

The King Institute mourns the passing of Dr. Bernard Lafayette, a Freedom Rider, long-time SNCC organizer, and coordinator of SCLC efforts in Chicago and the 1968 Poor People's Campaign, amongst innumerable other contributions to the civil rights struggle. 🕊

The Place, The March, The Movement | MLK Jr. March on Frankfort | PBS LearningMedia Martin Luther King Jr. was the featured speaker at a March on Frankfort, Kentucky in 1964, where an estimated 10,000 people gathered in a peaceful protest for civil rights. In 2022, researchers Joanna...

“If moderation means slowing up in our fight, then moderation is a tragic vice which members of our race must condemn. The time is now to make real the promise of democracy.”

-MLK, 5 March 1964

Learn more:

Photograph of King by Kentucky Office of Public Information. Courtesy of Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.

#OnThisDay in 1964, King participated in the March on Frankfort to the Kentucky state capitol. The 10,000 demonstrators, including Jackie Robinson and Ralph Abernathy, protested Governor Breathitt's refusal to pass legislation integrating public accommodations.

Young King From a preeminent King scholar, the origin story of the man, minister, and civil rights hero who would lead the nation and change the world. We know who Mar...

Pre-order your copy today!

16 can't-miss nonfiction titles for 2026 Patrick Radden Keefe is back. So are Han Kang, Lindy West, Jayne Anne Phillips and more authors telling true tales that promise to send readers soaring.

King Institute director Dr. Lerone Martin's forthcoming book was named one of the most anticipated nonfiction titles of 2026!

Learn more about Young King: The Making of Martin Luther King Jr., forthcoming from HarperCollins this May:

Read King's February 1948 application to Crozer Theological Seminary here: kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/...

Photograph of King by Bob Fitch, courtesy of the Bob Fitch Photography Archive, Stanford University Libraries.

#OnThisDay in 1948, at age 19, King was ordained and appointed assistant pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

"I felt an inescapable urge to serve society. In short, I felt a sense of responsibility which I could not escape."

Photograph of Dr. Lerone Martin by Jess Alvarenga.

“I’m hoping that the ability to take a class at Stanford, and do well, will be transformative—both in terms of how these students see the world, and in terms of how they see themselves.”

Read more: momentum.stanford.edu/stories/titl...

Learn more about Jackson's remarkable life and contributions to the civil rights movement here: kinginstitute.stanford.edu/jackson-jess...

Photograph of Jesse Jackson by Bob Fitch, courtesy of the Bob Fitch Photography Archive, Stanford University Libraries.

"The things that drive Jesse are a combination of factors produced by his childhood, but also the moral legacy of Martin Luther King and he feels a kind of responsibility to live up to that mantle. And, that's always driving him."

-Andrew Young, Frontline interview, PBS, 30 April 1996.

️"Gandhi was probably the first person in history to lift the love ethic of Jesus above mere interaction between individuals to a powerful and effective social force on a large scale. Love for Gandhi was a potent instrument for social and collective transformation."
- King, STRIDE TOWARD FREEDOM

Photograph of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King laying a wreath at Gandhi's memorial by U.S. Embassy New Delhi.

#OnThisDay in 1959, the Kings laid a wreath at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi during their month-long trip to India. Learn more about King's pilgrimage here: kinginstitute.stanford.edu/india-trip

🔥Join us for a Fireside Chat with Congressman Jim Clyburn as we celebrate the release of his new book!

This event is open to the public. Attend in person at Stanford Law School @law.stanford.edu or virtually via livestream.

🔗 RSVP now! kinginstitute.stanford.edu/events/lectu...

Celebrate Black History Month 2026 Theme: A Century of Black History Commemorations

We join the Association for the Study of African American Life and History in celebrating a century of Black history commemorations this #BlackHistoryMonth ✊🏿

Learn more: asalh.org/black-histor...

Photograph by Bob Fitch, courtesy of the Bob Fitch Photography Archive, Stanford University Libraries.

Happy birthday to Dexter King on his 65th birthday!

In the photo below, Dexter (striped shirt) enjoys a meal with Bernice, Coretta, Martin III, and Yolanda King at home.

Learn about Dexter's life and work here: kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-dexter-...

Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith. Courtesy of the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-highsm-14492.

💫 Today the nation commemorates King's life and enduring legacy. How will you remember King today?

👉 Learn how the King National Holiday came to be: kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-nationa...

Photograph of King courtesy of the Bob Fitch Photography Archive, Stanford University Libraries.

Happy birthday to Martin Luther King, Jr.! Today would have been King's 97th birthday. How will you celebrate King today? 🎊

Learn more: kinginstitute.stanford.edu

Claudette Colvin, who refused to move seats on a bus at start of civil rights movement, dies at 86 Civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin has died. She was 86. Her 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus helped spark the modern civil rights movement.

We mourn the passing of Claudette Colvin. At just 15 years old, she refused to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus and became a key figure in the legal battle that ended bus segregation. May her legacy and her bravery endure for generations.

Photograph of James Farmer courtesy of the New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ppmsca-38689.

Happy birthday to James Farmer, co-founder of the Congress of Racial Equality! Farmer was born 106 years ago today.🎊

Learn more: kinginstitute.stanford.edu/farmer-james

Rosa Parks speaks in front of the Alabama State Capitol during the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March. Photograph courtesy of the Matt Herron photography archive (M2866). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California.

Rare photographs of Rosa Parks and the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March have recently been discovered at Stanford University Library! Researchers found the never-printed images amongst photographer Matt Herron's contact sheets.

Learn more: news.stanford.edu/stories/2026...

Read the full 3 January 1964 article here:

Learn more about Time magazine naming King as 1963's "Man of the Year":

The 3 January 1964 cover of Time magazine names Martin Luther King, Jr. as 1963's "Man of the Year" and features an illustration of King.

"He has an indescribable capacity for empathy that is the touchstone of leadership. By deed and by preachment, he has stirred in his people a Christian forbearance that nourishes hope and smothers injustice."

-"Man of the Year: Never Again Where He Was,” Time magazine, 3 January 1964.

The Mapping MLK Project presents a revolutionary way to visualize King's movements across the globe. Trace his steps from Atlanta to the history books.

👀 Psst.....something NEW is here:

kinginstitute.stanford.edu/mapping-mlk

King accepted the Nobel Peace Prize during a 10 December 1964 ceremony in Oslo, Norway. Learn more here:

King's receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize is celebrated at a January 1965 dinner in Atlanta. Photograph courtesy of Lane Brothers Commercial Photographers Photographic Collection, 1920-1976, LBSCB12-120d, Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.

#OnThisDay in 1964: "I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up."

Register and learn more here:

The King Institute and the Stanford Institute for Advancing Just Societies present MLK: Live from the Archives. Join us for an exclusive look into Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy through rare archival documents brought to life by Dr. Lerone Martin, director of Stanford's MLK Research and Education Institute. Thursday, January 15th, 2026, 4:30 pm-6:30 pm Simonyi Conference Center, 4th floor CoDa Building, 389 Jane Stanford Way Tour the new MLK Research and Education Institute space Tours available prior to the event, between 2:00 pm-4:00 pm Tour location: The King Institute 450 Jane Stanford Way, Building 370 Cosponsored by the Department of African and African American Studies and the School of Humanities and Sciences.

On January 15th, join us for an exclusive look into Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy through rare archival documents brought to life by Dr. Lerone Martin, Director of Stanford's MLK Research & Education Institute!