The Martin Luther King Jr. Award was established by FORin 1979 to recognize persons or groups working in the United States in the tradition of Martin Luther King, Jr. The Rev. Dr. King was a member of FOR and worked closely with the organization; he was serving as a member of FOR’s Advisory Council at the time of his death. The award honors those who make a significant contribution to the furtherance of Dr. King’s nonviolent approach to transforming racial, economic, and social injustice.