In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., Gawker would like to take a moment to reflect on why the civil rights hero is so important.

• Found over 300 uses for peanuts
• First African-American Secretary of State
• Founded NAACP
• Worked as a conductor on the Underground Railroad
• Played Major League Baseball
• First African-American to win an Academy Award
• Called bullshit on the white world of publishing

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