布拉德·威特文 卢屹译

These visionary African American activists were some of the most vocal agents for racial change. 這些有远见卓识的非裔美国活动家高声疾呼，推动种族间的变革。

Martin Luther King Jr.

Widely recognized as the most prominent figure of the civil rights movement， Martin Luther King Jr. was instrumental in executing nonviolent protests， such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington， where he delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. The following year， the Baptist minister became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize at just 35 years old.

Throughout his life， the civil rights leader was reportedly imprisoned nearly 30 times for acts of civil disobedience， among other unreasonable charges. （Montgomery， Alabama police once jailed King for driving 30 miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone.） While behind bars in 1963， King penned his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail， which included the famous quote， “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

On April 4， 1968， Missouri State Penitentiary fugitive James Earl Ray assassinated the 39-year-old King， who was standing on the second-floor balcony of Memphis， Tennessee hotel， Lorraine Motel. Following Kings murder， his wife and fellow activist Coretta Scott King continued their work towards justice by founding Atlantas Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change （also known as the King Center）.

Malcolm X

In stark contrast to Kings championing of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience， Malcolm X famously preached defending oneself “by any means necessary，” thus sparking what many considered to be a radicalized， potentially violent version of the civil rights movement.

While serving a 10-year prison sentence for a larceny conviction， he converted to the Nation of Islam， which promoted Black supremacy and rejected the idea of integration.

Malcolm X eventually left the Nation of Islam in 1964 and later converted to traditional Islam during a pilgrimage to Mecca， Saudi Arabia. Upon returning to the United States， he had shifted ideol-ogies and was more optimistic toward a peaceful resolution to the fight for civil rights. On February 21， 1965， Malcolm X was preparing to give a speech for his Organization of Afro-American Unity at New York Citys Audubon Ballroom when several members of the Nation of Islam shot and killed him.

Rosa Parks

Often referred to as “the mother of the civil rights movement，” Rosa Parks， a seamstress， put a spotlight on racial injustice when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery， Alabama on December 1， 1955. Her arrest and resulting conviction for violating segregation laws launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott， which was led by Dr. King and boasted 17，000 Black participants.

The year-long boycott ended in December 1956 following a U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring Montgomerys segregated seating unconstitutional. During that time， Parks lost her job and， in 1957， relocated to Detroit， where she served on Michigan congressman John Conyers， Jr.s staff and remained active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People （NAACP）.

John Lewis

John Lewis， whos served as a Georgia congressman since 1986， learned about nonviolent protest while studying at Nashvilles American Baptist Theological Seminary and went on to organize sit-ins at segregated lunch counters. Eventually earning the title of chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee （SNCC）， the Alabama native was beaten and arrested while participating in the 1961 Freedom Rides.

After speaking at the 1963 March on Washington， he led a march from Selma to Montgomery， Alabama， on March 7， 1965. During what became known as “Bloody Sunday，” state police violently attacked the marchers as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge， and Lewis suffered a fractured skull. The days horrific images led President Lyndon B. Johnson to sign the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Bayard Rustin

Bayard Rustin was a close adviser to Dr. King beginning in the mid-1950s who assisted with organizing the Montgomery Bus Boycott and played a key role in orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington. Hes also credited with teaching King about Mahatma Gandhis philosophies of peace and tactics of civil disobedience.

After moving to New York in the 1930s， he was involved in many early civil rights protests， including one against North Carolinas segregated public transit system that resulted in his arrest. （Rustin was eventually sentenced to work on a chain gang.）

James Farmer

Aside from heading prominent civil rights era organization， the Congress of Racial Equality （CORE）， James Farmer also organized the 1961 Freedom Rides， which eventually led to interstate travel desegregation. The Howard University graduate was also a follower of Gandhis philosophies and applied their principles to his own acts of nonviolent civil resistance.

While trying to organize protests in Plaquemine， Louisiana， in 1963， state troopers armed with guns， cattle prods and tear gas， hunted him door to door， according to COREs website， which noted that Farmer eventually went to jail on charges of “disturbing the peace.”

Hosea Williams

After nearly being killed for using a white people-only water fountain in Georgia， Hosea Williams joined Savannahs chapter of the NAACP in 1952. Twelve years later， he joined Kings Southern Christian Leadership Conference as an officer， assisting with Black voter registration drives in the Freedom Summer of 1964.

Along with Lewis， he also played a leadership role in the 1965 March to Montgomery that became known as “Bloody Sunday.” That same year， King appointed him president of the SCLCs Summer Community Organization and Political Education.

Williams， who witnessed Kings 1968 assassination， was elected to the Georgia State Assembly in 1974.

Whitney Young Jr.

As the executive director of the National Urban League， beginning in 1961， Whitney Young Jr. was responsible for overseeing the integration of corporate workplaces. Throughout his 10 years in the position， he took up the cause of equal opportunities for Black in industry and government service. At his direction， the National Urban League also co-sponsored the 1963 March on Washington.

On the political front， the World War II veteran acted as an adviser on racial matters to President Lyndon B. Johnson， and his Domestic Marshall Plan is said to have heavily influenced 1960s federal poverty programs. Young received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1968.

Roy Wilkins

Roy Wilkins served as assistant NAACP secretary under Walter Francis White in the early 1930s and succeeded W.E.B. Du Bois as the editor of the organizations official magazine， Crisis， in 1934. During Wilkins tenure， the NAACP played a major role in civil rights victories， including Brown v. Board of Education， the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

A subscriber to the philosophy that reform is best achieved via legislation， Wilkins testified before Congress multiple times and also consulted for several U.S. presidents. Among the watershed events he participated in： the 1963 March on Washington， 1965s “Bloody Sunday” Selma to Montgomery march and the March Against Fear in 1966.

馬丁·路德·金

马丁·路德·金被公认为最杰出的民权运动人物，推动了蒙哥马利巴士抵制运动、1963年“向华盛顿进军”等非暴力抗议活动。他在“向华盛顿进军”运动中发表了著名演讲《我有一个梦想》。次年，这位浸礼会牧师成为最年轻的诺贝尔和平奖获得者，时年仅35岁。

据说这位民权领袖一生中因温和抵抗行为等无理指控入狱近30次。（亚拉巴马州蒙哥马利市警方，曾以金在25英里限速区内以30英里时速行驶为由，将他拘禁。）1963年，金在狱中写下名作《伯明翰狱中来信》，其中有一句名言：“任何一地的不公都是对各地公正的威胁。”

1968年4月4日，密苏里州立监狱的逃犯詹姆斯·厄尔·雷伊暗杀了39岁的金，当时金正站在田纳西州孟菲斯市洛雷恩汽车旅馆二楼阳台上。金被害后，他的遗孀、同为民权活动家的科蕾塔·斯科特·金继续他们争取正义的事业，在亚特兰大成立了马丁·路德·金非暴力社会变革中心（又称金中心）。

马尔科姆·X

众所周知，与金所倡导的非暴力抗议和温和抵抗截然相反，马尔科姆·X宣扬“通过一切必要手段”进行自卫，从而引发了多被认为具有潜在暴力的激进民权运动。

因盗窃罪而服刑的10年间，他改信宣扬黑人至上、拒绝融合理念的伊斯兰民族组织。

1964年，马尔科姆·X最终脱离伊斯兰民族组织，后来在前往沙特麦加朝觐期间，皈依了传统伊斯兰教。回到美国后，他的思想已发生转变，对用和平方式争取民权持更加乐观的态度。……