Perspectives: The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

WHEN PRESIDENT Ronald Reagan signed the bill creating a federal holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., he warned that “traces of bigotry still mar” the country. This may seem the understatement of the 20th century; it would be an understatement today.

King spoke in his “I Have a Dream” speech of the “sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent.” This would not pass, he explained, “until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.” He said this on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial — not far...

More than half a century after an assassin's bullet silenced him, and 35 years after the nation began observing a federal holiday in his honor, Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and legacy still resonate.

As the preeminent voice of the civil rights movement, King's eloquence and vision for a united America made him an icon. His powerful words – delivered through sermons, speeches and books – symbolize a utopia to which our nation always aspires.

Few people in history have been quoted more than King. His message of equality and...