7 Martin Luther King, Jr. 7strength and prophetic quality of King’s famous “I Have a
Dream” speech, in which he emphasized his faith that all
men, someday, would be brothers.
The rising tide of civil rights agitation produced, as
King had hoped, a strong effect on national opinion and
resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
This act authorized the federal government to enforce
desegregation of public accommodations and outlawed
discrimination in publicly owned facilities, as well as in
employment. That eventful year was climaxed by the
award to King of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway,
in December.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (centre), and Malcolm X (right), 1964. Library of
Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital fi le no. 3d01847u)