October 14th

On this date 48 years ago Martin Luther King won the Nobel Peace Prize. He was thirty-five in 1964 and the youngest person to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize. MLK won for his non violent resistance to racial prejudice in America. The year before he led his famous march in Washington DC where he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The year he won, two very important things happened for the civil rights movement; the ratification of the 24th amendment, which abolished the poll tax, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited racial discrimination in employment and education and outlawed racial segregation in public facilities. Awarded the Peace Prize in October, King donated the all of the prize money, around $54,600, to the civil rights movement. Only four years later Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Known as one of the greatest proponents for peace in the modern world, King is revered across the states and the world for his work still today. His contributions to the civil rights movement as a leader were many but he is well known for his want of non-violent change. I believe one reason he is so revered as he is today and was then is that he did so much, was such a great influence without letting his anger influence his actions and lead to violence. King claimed that "at the center of non-violence is love." He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his love of humanity and his devotion to a cause that touched so many people.

On a lighter note and because I just couldn't exclude it, today in 1926 was also the day Winnie the Pooh was first released.