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Jan 16, 2023 - World

In photos: How Martin Luther King Jr. inspired Latinos

Russell Contreras
A Hispanic man walks with his bike passed an MLK mural in South Central Los Angeles.

An MLK mural in South Central Los Angeles where Hispanic immigrants have transformed the once predominately Black area on March 16, 1998. Photo: David Butow/Corbis via Getty Images

Hoping to organize a march against poverty, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was working with Mexican American civil rights leaders in Texas and California a few months before his assassination.

Through the lens: These photos show how many Latinos in the U.S. and Latin America have been inspired by King in their pushes for human and civil rights and immigration reform.

Chicano Movement leader Reies López Tijerina speaks at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated just weeks after the killing.
Chicano Movement leader Reies López Tijerina speaks at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis on May 2, 1968, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Photo: Corbis/Bettmann Archives via Getty Images
Coretta Scott King and UFW farm worker union leader Cesar Chavez attend a march in 1976.
Coretta Scott King and UFW farm worker union leader Cesar Chavez attend a march on Jan. 15, 1976. Photo: Bettmann Archives via Getty Images
A portrait of young Martin Luther King Jr. is displayed during the opening exhibition "A dream of equality" in Mexico City, Mexico.
A portrait of young Martin Luther King Jr. is displayed during the opening exhibition "A dream of equality" in Mexico City, Mexico, on July 7, 2016. Photo: Miguel Tovar/LatinContent via Getty Images
Gaspar Carmen wears a Martin Luther King Jr. sweatshirt as he works in a communal vegetable garden where Latinos and African Americans till their plots side by side in Los Angeles.
Gaspar Carmen wears a Martin Luther King Jr. sweatshirt as he works in a communal vegetable garden where Latinos and African Americans till their plots side by side in Los Angeles on Jan. 17, 1997. Photo: Clarence Williams/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Family and friends of Javier Rodriguez hold a demonstration on MLK Day to protest Javier's recent arrest by ICE agents, on January 20, 2020 outside of his apartment in the South Bronx, New York.
Family and friends of Javier Rodriguez hold a small demonstration on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to protest Javier's arrest by ICE agents, on Jan. 20, 2020 outside of his apartment in the South Bronx, New York. Photo: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Javen Lopez, 9, left, smiles with his brother, Julian, 11, during a Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration.
Javen Lopez smiles with his brother, Julian, during a Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Jan. 15, 2018. Photo: Natalie Kolb/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images
Judith Escobar of Lorton, Virginia, who was originally from El Salvador, poses with her certificate after a special naturalization ceremony at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial n Washington.
Judith Escobar of Lorton, Virginia, who is originally from El Salvador, poses with her certificate after a special naturalization ceremony at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington on Aug. 28, 2015. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
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