In January of 1966, Martin Luther King, Jr., moved to Chicago to support the local activists in the Chicago Freedom Movement, a campaign against poverty, housing discrimination, and other urban problems. 

In this episode, Dr. Carson discusses how King experienced and dealt with impoverished living conditions in the ghettos, segregated schools, lack of employment opportunities, and other forms of discrimination in the North. As black political activism shifted from the rural south to northern cities, King's nonviolent principles were tested and proven less successful. Despite numerous mass marches, the Chicago Campaign produced few tangible gains and weakened King's reputation as an effective civil rights leader.  

For more information and educational resources visit: The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute

Photo: Chicago, IL Freedom Festival, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Martin Luther King Jr., Al Raby, Mahalia Jackson 1966. Bob Fitch, Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections.