Celebrities Honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil rights icon, visionary, activist, and humanitarian are only a few ways to describe Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

His dream of a world free of racial and economic inequality continues to inspire and motivate millions around the world. His legacy is celebrated from Washington D.C. — where the Martin Luther King, Jr. monument stands proud — to Broadway, where the play, "The Mountaintop" (starring Angela Bassett and Samuel L. Jackson) explores the last night of the great man's life in 1968.

Today, on what would have been Dr. King's 83rd birthday, ESSENCE spotlights how celebrities like Maya Angelou, Kerry Washington, and more continue to honor Dr. King's memory.