The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once confessed to Harry Belafonte that he feared Black Americans were "integrating into a burning house," or a nation losing its moral vision, according to the late New York singer and activist. The problem, Belafonte said, required everyday Americans to “become the firemen.”

More than 50 years after he died at age 39 from an assassin’s bullet, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. endures as one of the most influential and recognizable figures in American history. His rise from the pulpit of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to his groundbreaking work as a founder and leader

Coretta once said that while Martin had to be serious in public, he was a playful, humorous family man. See glimpses of that in these heartwarming images.