Martin Luther King Jr. grew up in the 1940s and 50s in Atlanta, Georgia facing racial segregation and discrimination. He was inspired by his father and Gandhi's teachings of nonviolent protest. As a pastor in Montgomery, Alabama, he led the bus boycott of 1955-1956 after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. This launched King to national prominence as a civil rights leader. In the 1960s, he continued organizing nonviolent protests including sit-ins and marches, giving his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. Though assassinated in 1968, his efforts helped achieve major civil rights legislation ending segregation.