The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 50 years ago punctuated a decade of progress, built on generations of activism and defined by the many successes during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. But while the movement lost its most visible leader in 1968, Dr. King's dream lives on through the work being undertaken by those committed to dismantling institutional racism and building a world that lives up to his lofty ideals.
While Dr. King made his famous "I Have a Dream," speech in Washington, a young Hugh Price served as the movement's eyes on the ground, helping to make sure that agitators wouldn't be able to disrupt the peaceful gathering. Price would eventually follow in King's footsteps, leading the National Urban League as President and CEO from 1994 to 2003. He is also the author of This African-American Life.
Opal Tometi hails from a new generation of activism. She's a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the executive director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.
Hugh Price and Opal Tometi reflect on the civil rights movements of yesterday and the impulses for social change of today.
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