He was the youngest person to ever receive the award in its entire history. Tragically, Martin Luther King Jr.'s life was taken on April 4, 1968, when he was assassinated at the age of 39 at his hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. Following his murder, eighty riots broke out that evening. James Earl Ray was arrested and convicted of this shocking crime. Another key individual in the civil rights movement was James Farmer. He was the first black man in the history of the United States to earn a Ph.D. Farmer was also the originator of CORE. He believed that the blacks in general would be thought of as ignorant and substandard until they had equal education and job training. He commanded that the government make available programs that could educate and provide job training. In support of his argument he stated, "When a society has crippled some of its people, it has an obligation to provide the requisite crutches-. Both Farmer and King were essential individuals in the anti-segregation movement. .
Playing a very important role in the anti-segregation fight were protests. Mainly protests of a non-violent nature. Martin Luther King Jr. pushed for protests of only a peaceful nature. His policy for the non-violent protest was the most admired one at the time. One of the most commonly used methods of peaceful protest was the sit-in. Demonstrations of this type were first seen in 1960, in Greensboro, North Carolina. In spite of being doused in condiments and viciously beaten by violent onlookers, four black students refused to vacate a Woolworth's lunch counter until they were served. The students wrapped their ankles around the stools and grasped the edges of their seats, defiantly resisting all attempts to remove them. Yet a more efficient way of protest was marching. In 1964, a march was held that traveled from Selma, Alabama all the way to Montgomery. Because of this march, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed.
