He is the author of “The Third Reconstruction: America’s Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-First Century.” The views expressed here are his own. CNN —Had he lived, Martin Luther King Jr. would be 95 years old this year. He turned political debates over racial integration, non-violent civil disobedience and voting rights into a national, then global, referendum on freedom. And, as their forerunners did, they continue to press for voting rights, equal education and environmental justice in communities of color – all a continuation of King’s legacy. The passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act were not pre-ordained - nor were they universally beloved pieces of legislation.

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Persons: Joseph, Barbara Jordan, “, CNN —, Martin Luther King Jr, Joseph Kelvin Ma, Kelvin Ma, King, subversives, Communist dupes, John F, Kennedy, Robert F, Black, ” King, White, ”, Jim Crow, ‘, ” Kennedy, George Wallace Organizations: Center, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, Racial Justice, CNN, Tufts University, Communist, Jobs, Birmingham City, White, University of Alabama, Blacks Locations: Austin, America, Washington, Birmingham, United States