Name: Aung San Suu Kyi
Dates: Born in 1945
Biography:
Aung San Suu Kyi is a pro-democracy activist currently detained as a political prisoner by the government of Myanmar (Burma). Elected Prime Minister in 1990, she has intermittently been under house arrest ever since, despite calls for her release by world leaders, human rights organizations, and even the United Nations.

As a Buddhist, Suu Kyi has advocated a non-violent struggle for democracy in the face of the military dictatorship that has been in power since 1962. Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 and remains under house arrest today.

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Name: Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dates: 1929-1968
Biography:
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the primary leaders of the civil rights movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. Beginning as a Baptist minister, King led the struggle to end racial injustice, including segregation.

Inspired by his Christian convictions and the non-violent philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, King organized acts of civil disobedience, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and the March on Washington in 1963, where King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In 1967, King voiced public opposition to the Vietnam war.

On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. He left behind his wife Coretta Scott King and four children. Mrs. King carried on her husband’s work until her death in 2006.

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(About the minifig itself: morgan19 and at least one other builder who I can’t find at the moment have posted identical MLK figs, but in my defense, I’ve had this minifig lying around unphotographed for at least a year. ;-) )

Name: Stephen Bantu Biko
Dates: 1946-1977
Biography:
Biko was a South African anti-apartheid activist who founded the Black Consciousness Movement. As a young medical student, Biko formed the South African Students’ Organization, a group that fought for the rights of Black, Indian, and mixed-race (“Coloured”) students.

Despite being banned by the white apartheid government, Biko continued his political activities. On August 18, 1977, Biko was arrested. On September 12, he died in police custody.

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Name: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Dates: 1869-1948
Biography:
Gandhi was the spiritual and political leader of the movement for Indian independence. As a young lawyer in South Africa, he became a proponent of civil disobedience and other non-violent methods, attempting to improve the civil rights of Indians in South Africa.

In 1915, he returned to India. Throughout the rest of his life, Gandhi continued to use non-violence in the struggle to free India (which then also included the modern nations of both Pakistan and Bangladesh) from British rule, despite often-brutal reprisals. India achieved independence in August 1947, but was soon divided into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, despite Gandhi’s efforts to avoid partition.

Nicknamed “Mahatma” (“Great Soul”) and “The Father of India,” Gandhi was assassinated in January 1948.

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(Inspired by the upcoming birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., this is the first in a series of posts celebrating the men and women who struggle to make this world a better place, especially those who work toward peace, human rights, and protection of the environment.)