Special Report
Most Important Civil Rights Leaders of the 20th Century
May 1, 2019 4:29 pm
Last Updated: January 6, 2020 5:03 am
36. Coretta Scott King (1927-2006)
> Occupations: Author, singer
> Cause: Liaison to peace and justice organizations
Wife of Martin Luther King Jr., King was herself the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. After her husband’s death, she founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.
37. Elie Wiesel (1928-2016)
> Occupations: Author, professor, novelist, philosopher, screenwriter
> Cause: Human rights
Wiesel was a writer, Holocaust survivor, activist, and Jewish rights leader. His memoir “NIght” recalled his experiences in a concentration camp during World War II.
38. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)
> Occupation: Minister
> Cause: Racial justice
King, the symbol of the civil rights movement, was influenced by Mohandas Gandhi’s non-violent tactics. King was involved in virtually every significant civil rights event in the 1950s and 1960s before he was slain in Memphis, Tennessee, 50 years ago.
39. Harvey Milk (1930-1978)
> Occupations: Politician, businessman
> Cause: Gay rights
A politician from San Francisco, Milk was a gay rights activist and leader who was killed by a political rival.
40. John Lewis (1940-)
> Occupations: Politician, writer
> Cause: Challenging bus, rail segregation
Lewis helped organize the historic voting rights march to Selma in 1965, where he was injured by those opposing the march. Lewis was a keynote speaker at the march on Washington in 1963.