MLK Worked With These 4 Civil Rights Leaders: Highlight Them in Your Classroom!

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a powerful civil rights leader in the United States who is remembered for his peaceful and non-violent advocacy for equality among all people regardless of race or social standing.

He worked closely with various committed individuals during his lifetime which helped to spread his message throughout the nation. These key leaders helped pave the way for overdue civil rights laws to be enacted - including desegregating schools and public places and ensuring voting rights protections were granted to African Americans.

There are four key civil rights leaders that King connected with on various occasions - and their stories must be shared to keep highlighting Dr. King’s incredible legacy and influence current conversations around equality today!

Read on below to discover which five figures we’re referring to, so you can educate your students about each one's unique role in history.

Civil Rights Leaders Inspired by MLK Jr.

With such a long list of civil rights activists to choose from, it can be difficult to know where to start. To help guide lesson plan development for MLK Day and other special occasions related to racial justice, here are five key people King worked alongside during his lifetime:

1) Mamie King-Chalmers

Mamie was one of three Black people who braced themselves against a building as they were blasted by water from a firehose in Birmingham, Alabama. The photo appeared in Life magazine in 1963, representing the courage and sacrifice demanded of the era’s civil rights activists.

King-Chalmers, who was 21 at the time, said the force of the water was “so strong it damaged my hearing.”​ She later marched with King to the state capitol in Montgomery. In 2013, Mamie was officially honored by Birmingham when they presented her with the Key to the City.

Throughout Mamie’s life she has been an inspiration to all, admired for her courage and bravery. She stated, “My life has been a struggle and I will continue to struggle with faith and courage until the work is done.”

2) Bill Owens

Bill was an Alabama native who made his mark in Massachusetts, serving in the state’s House of Representatives and becoming the first Black person elected to the state Senate. Owens created the Massachusetts State Office of Minority and Women Business Assistance and a summer youth jobs program.

He also sponsored a bill in the ’80s that was one of the first to seek reparations for descendants of enslaved Black Americans.​

Owens served as an advisor to Martin Luther King Jr., including attending the March on Washington in 1963. Owens’s activism has had a lasting impact, and his daughter Valerie Owens-Fink was recently appointed to serve as the first Black female judge of the Massachusetts Superior Court.

3) Dorothy Height

Dorothy Height was an amazing civil rights leader who dedicated her life to fighting for racial, gender, and economic justice. Height was the president of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) from 1957-1998.
Height worked closely with Dr. King and other leaders, advocating for important issues all women should care about including access to health care and education opportunities.

Height is best known for organizing the Women’s March on Washington in 1963, which was held one day before MLK Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream Speech.” She also served as the chair of the National Women's Political Caucus and helped to organize the March for Women's Equality. Height received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.

4) Charles Sherrod

Charles emerged in the early 1960s as a leader in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which staged sit-ins, registered voters, and challenged segregation.
Disheartened by the Albany, Georgia officials' refusal to take action regarding racial segregation in the area, Sherrod developed workshops on peaceful tactics for African American locals. This was done to prepare them for a possible confrontation with local law enforcement.

The "Albany Movement" employed a multitude of protest strategies, including jail-ins, boycotts, sit-ins and litigation. This drew the attention of Martin Luther King Jr., who was famously arrested in Albany as well. In turn, this illuminated even more brightly on the issues facing the city's population.

5) Diane Nash

Diane Nash was a student at Fisk University when she became a major leader in the civil rights movement. She started with the Nashville sit-ins and organized Freedom Riders who challenged segregated bus stations across the South.

Nash worked diligently to get young people involved by organizing boycotts, marches, voter registration drives, and fundraising. Nash was also instrumental in the desegregation of Nashville’s lunch counters and drafted an official announcement that read, "We feel that it is as much our moral obligation to disobey unjust laws as it is to obey just ones."

To honor her activism and legacy, The Diane Nash Prize for CORE Activism has been established to recognize those who have made a difference for the civil rights movement.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s Legacy Lives Through Others

It’s important that students, teachers, and other educators learn about these five iconic figures from the Civil Rights Movement and their work alongside Martin Luther King Jr.

As such, lesson plans focused on their individual stories and their shared mission can be designed for use in the classroom on Martin Luther King Day or throughout Black History Month. The important lesson to impart is that a single individual can make a difference and when joined with others, real change can be made for the good of mankind.

By telling their stories, we show our appreciation for these activists’ dedication and serve as an ongoing reminder of their impact and influence. In doing so, we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and keep his dream alive.