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The Personal Toll Of Civil Rights Activism

American civil rights leader Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King lead a voting rights march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital in Montgomery.
William Lovelace/Express/Getty Images
American civil rights leader Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King lead a voting rights march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital in Montgomery.

The fight for civil rights has always been hard work. It takes a toll on the mind and the body.

And the struggle continues today, 50 years after the death of Martin Luther King Jr.

Every generation has their crusaders: the big names we know, and untold thousands of others whose support makes these movements possible. Who exactly are the new activists and what battles are they fighting? And how do they stay in the fight?

GUESTS

Nate Hamilton, Co-founded the Coalition for Justice, an organization that has led protests and demonstrations in the city of Milwaukee. His brother, Dontre Hamilton, was shot and killed by a police officer in 2014.

Lucia “Lucy” McBath, Faith and Outreach Leader for Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Her son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed in an argument over loud music at a gas station in 2012.

Reverend Wanda Johnson, Executive Director of the Oscar Grant Foundation, a non-profit which helps at-risk youth. Her son, Oscar Grant, was shot and killed by an Oakland transit officer in 2009.

For more, visit https://the1a.org.

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