Martin Luther King Jr. delivers first national speech 60 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (May 17 1957)


Video: 'Martin Luther King Jr. 'Give Us the Ballot' May 17, 1957'

(Friday, May 17, 1957, afternoon EDT) — The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., 28, delivered his first national speech, titled “Give Us the Ballot,” advocating voting rights for African-Americans, during the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom gathering at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.