October 14, 1964, 35-year-old Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., became the youngest man to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. His philosophy of non-violent civil disobedience was an influential part of the civil rights movement, the nation’s largest social movement of the 20th century. The movement achieved the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed racial segregation in public facilities, and racial discrimination in education and employment. The poll tax, which prevented African Americans from voting, was also abolished. “I accept the Nobel Prize for Peace at a moment when 22 million Negroes of the United States of America are engaged in a creative battle to end the long night of racial injustice. I accept this award on behalf of a civil rights movement which is moving with determination and a majestic scorn for risk and danger to establish a reign of freedom and a rule of justice.” Dr. King donated his prize money of $54,600 to the civil rights movement.
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