Celebrating Progress

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In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led mass protests against discriminatory practices in Birmingham, Alabama where much of the white population was violently resisting desegregation. The city was dubbed ‘Bombingham’ as attacks against civil rights protesters increased. King was arrested and jailed for his part in the protests. After his release, King delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech at the March on Washington, predicting a day when the promise of freedom and equality for all would become a reality in America.

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Two-year-old Barack Hussein Obama, in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1963. From Vanity Fair.