Martin Luther King Jr.

===United Kingdom===
{{See also|Northern Ireland civil rights movement}}
[[John Hume]], the former leader of the [[Social Democratic and Labour Party]], cited King's legacy as quintessential to the [[Northern Ireland civil rights movement]] and the signing of the [[Good Friday Agreement]], calling him "one of my great heroes of the century".<ref>{{cite web|title=Nobel Lecture|website=Nobelprize.org|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1998/hume-lecture.html|date=December 10, 1998|access-date=May 18, 2016|archive-date=June 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624054943/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1998/hume-lecture.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=King remembered for civil rights achievements|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9901/18/mlk.03/|website=CNN|date=January 18, 1999|access-date=May 18, 2016|archive-date=August 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805055210/http://www.cnn.com/US/9901/18/mlk.03/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Interview with John Hume (26 minutes)|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/?id=46|publisher=The Nobel Prize|date=August 31, 2006|access-date=May 20, 2016|archive-date=June 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624200533/http://www.nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/?id=46|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Martin Luther King Fund and Foundation in the UK was set up as a charity<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=MARTIN LUTHER KING FOUNDATION – Charity 260411 |url=https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/260411/full-print |access-date=April 27, 2022 |website=register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk |language=en-GB |archive-date=March 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321175545/https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/260411/full-print |url-status=live }}</ref> on December 30, 1969, after King's assassination and following a visit to the UK in 1969 by his widow, [[Coretta Scott King|Coretta King]]. The Foundation's first chairman, Canon [[John Collins (priest)|John Collins]], stated that the Foundation was to be an active UK national campaign for racial equality, its work also to include community projects in areas of social need, and education.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Sheppard |first=David |title=Black People and Employment: The 1975 Martin Luther King Memorial Lecture |publisher=The Martin Luther King Foundation |year=1975 |page=1 |author-link=David Sheppard}}</ref> International Personnel (IP), an employment agency, was formed in 1970 out of the foundation's base in [[Balham]], to find employment for professionally qualified black people. In its first year, the agency placed ten percent of its applicants in jobs equal to their ability.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Wood |first=Wilfred |url=https://archive.org/details/keepfaithbaby0000wood |title=Keep the Faith, Baby! |publisher=The Bible Reading Fellowship |year=1994 |isbn=978-0745929651 |page=13}}</ref> The Balham Training Scheme operated an evening school with lecturers in Typing, Shorthand, English and Math.<ref name=":3" /> The foundation was removed from the Charity Commission list on November 18, 1996, as it had ceased to exist.<ref name=":1" />
The Northumbria and Newcastle Universities Martin Luther King Peace Committee<ref>{{cite web|url=https://research.ncl.ac.uk/martinlutherking/|title=Martin Luther King Peace Committee|website=Newcastle University|access-date=April 22, 2015|archive-date=August 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814171943/https://research.ncl.ac.uk/martinlutherking/|url-status=live}}</ref> still exists to honor King's legacy, as represented by his final visit to the UK to receive an honorary degree from [[Newcastle University]] in 1967.<ref name="Newcastle ceremony">{{cite web|url=https://www.ncl.ac.uk/congregations/honorary/martinlutherking/|title=Martin Luther King Honorary Degree Ceremony|website=Newcastle University|access-date=December 18, 2018|archive-date=December 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219000901/https://www.ncl.ac.uk/congregations/honorary/martinlutherking/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Ward">{{cite journal|last=Ward|first=Brian|title=A King in Newcastle; Martin Luther King Jr. and British Race Relations, 1967–1968|journal=The Georgia Historical Quarterly|volume=79|issue=3|pages=599–632}}</ref> Northumbria and Newcastle remain centers for the study of Martin Luther King and the US civil rights movement. Inspired by King's vision, the committee undertakes a range of activities across the UK to "build cultures of peace".

In 2017, Newcastle University unveiled a bronze statue of King to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his honorary doctorate ceremony.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/archive/2017/11/martinlutherkingstatueunveiled/|title=Statue unveiled in honour of Martin Luther King Jr.|website=Newcastle University|author=Press Office|date=November 13, 2017|access-date=January 15, 2018|archive-date=July 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720132041/https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/archive/2017/11/martinlutherkingstatueunveiled/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Students Union also voted to rename their bar "Luther's".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/new-name-newcastle-universitys-student-12725758|title=New name for Newcastle University's Student Union Mensbar revealed|website=Chronicle Live|first=Hannah|last=Graham|date=March 11, 2017|access-date=January 15, 2018|archive-date=September 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912044307/https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/new-name-newcastle-universitys-student-12725758|url-status=live}}</ref>