This week marks Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, a national holiday. Decades after his first civil-rights marches, what is the meaning of King's legacy? And what do we know about the man himself? Below, read some of the best TNR articles from our archives:
"A Moral Revolutionary" by Garry Wills (09/13/82) The life and trials of MLK.
"Uneasy Holiday" by Taylor Branch (02/03/86) How should we honor a man we still don't know?
"The King To Come" by Bayard Rustin (03/09/87) The holiday and the future of race relations.
"Celebrating Dr. King's Birthday" by Robert Weisbrot (01/30/84) What made King the most effective protestor of his generation.
"Protests at Selma: Martin Luther King, Jr. & the Voting Rights Act of 1965" by David Herbert Donald (11/04/78) The Selma protest in the public eye.
"What Shall Become of His Dreams?" by John Osborne (08/24/68) King's men return to Memphis.