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As the head of the bus boycott, I gave one of the most important speeches of my life.

The room was packed.

Camera crews were filming.

I had only 20 minutes to prepare.

I didn't use notes.

But by speaking from my heart, I found out how big words can be.

We are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice runs down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.

When the history books are written in the future, somebody will have to say there lived a race of people, a black people, who had the moral courage to stand up for their rights.

The police put me in jail, saying I was breaking the law.

Other folks bombed my house, but instead of using my fists, I kept my calm.

Don't you want to fight back?

I am a man of nonviolence, and I know I do not stand alone.

We are with you all the way, Reverend.

If no one rides these buses, we'll go out of business.

You're finally getting that, huh?

For more than a full year, every black person in the city, and some white people too, refused to ride the buses.

That meant some people had to walk for miles, but they kept going.

There was a power in standing together.

Eventually, our peaceful protests worked.

The rules were changed.