MLK Legacy. On Aug. 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington DC. His historic speech helped galvanize the Civil Rights Movement. On 1964 Dr. King was granted the Nobel Peace Prize. A reverend and a PhD, Dr. King is best known as one of the best orators in American history, and the leader of the African American Civil Rights Movement using nonviolent civil disobedience according to his beliefs as a Christian. He was killed in 1968.