Today is the 48th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Dr. King's legacy was the advancement of civil rights, but he also campaigned for economic justice. Among other things, the 1963 "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom" demanded an increase in the federal minimum wage (to $2 an hour); a national program of public works, including job training, for the unemployed; broadening the Fair Labor Standards Act; and a federal law prohibiting discrimination in public or private hiring.

Bernie Sanders was a face in the crowd. A University of Chicago student, he traveled to Washington to be there at an historic moment.

Economic justice is as important today as it has ever been. Since the creation of the federal minimum wage in 1938, only three presidents have never signed an increase into law: Gerald Ford (who became president four months after Nixon signed an increase into law), Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama.

More info:
Wikipedia: Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I HAVE A DREAM ..." Speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King at the "March on Washington" (PDF)