Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights leader who led non-violent protests to achieve equal rights for African Americans through his leadership of the American civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The lesson objectives are to learn more about Martin Luther King Jr., listen for various purposes and specific information, and understand the role of an individual in a social movement. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech to an audience of 250,000 people.