What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?

Why this is the answer

There are two accepted answers, “fought for civil rights” and “worked for equality for all Americans,” and either one is complete on its own. The asterisk next to this question means it is also on the shorter list that applicants 65 or older, with 20 or more years as permanent residents, may study. King was a Baptist minister who became the main leader of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. His method was peaceful protest against racial discrimination and against laws that kept people apart by race. Much of his work centered on Black Americans, yet his goal reached further: he wanted every person in the United States to have civil rights, which is why the second official answer says all Americans. He rooted his argument in the nation’s founding promise. The Declaration of Independence speaks of equality, and King held that every citizen deserved to see that promise kept. The USCIS study guide also ties his work to the freedoms listed in the First Amendment. A few dates help place him. In 1963 he led the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and gave the “I Have a Dream” speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial. In 1964, at 35, he received the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1965 he and other leaders, John Lewis among them, helped organize the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, for voting rights, and the Voting Rights Act passed soon after. He was killed on April 4, 1968. One detail can make you second-guess yourself: “fought for civil rights” is also accepted on question 77 for Susan B. Anthony, whose cause was women’s rights. The phrase fits both, so do not let that overlap make you doubt it here. Another slip is naming a famous moment, like the speech, without saying what he did. When in doubt, think of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on the third Monday in January, the day the country celebrates his fight for civil rights.