“I Have a Dream, Martin Luther King, Jr.”

Undated
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John Seigenthaler Papers
Vanderbilt University Special Collections

As one of the core leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. worked with Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson. Although these relationships were at times strained, King was able to use his status to advocate for civil rights legislation, particularly with Johnson. They regularly called each other in private to collaborate on policy. When King publicly voiced his opposition to the Vietnam War in 1967, their close relationship ended.