Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrating the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr., the influential civil rights leader who advocated for racial equality through nonviolent civil disobedience. Observed on the third Monday in January each year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the state of civil rights in America and consider how we can continue working towards King’s vision of justice, freedom, and peace.
In honoring this important day, let’s challenge ourselves to learn more about Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and the civil rights movement through engaging riddles. Riddles can help spark creative thinking while also testing our knowledge in a fun way. The 71 riddles below all relate to Martin Luther King Jr. Day and touch on key events, people, places, and themes connected to King’s life and work. Each riddle has an answer provided, but try solving them yourself first!
Riddles about Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life
Q: I am Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthplace, a Southern city known as a center of civil rights history. What am I?
A: Atlanta, Georgia
Q: I am Martin Luther King Jr.’s alma mater, the college he attended in Atlanta where he honed his preaching and leadership skills. What am I?
A: Morehouse College
Q: I am the church where Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor, known as “King’s pulpit” in the civil rights movement. What am I?
A: Ebenezer Baptist Church
Q: I am Martin Luther King Jr.’s spouse, who stood by his side as an activist and leader in her own right. Who am I?
A: Coretta Scott King
Q: I am Martin Luther King Jr.’s organization, founded in 1957 to coordinate nonviolent protest against racial inequality. What am I?
A: Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
Q: We are Martin Luther King Jr.’s children, who carried on his legacy in different walks of life. Who are we?
A: Yolanda, Martin III, Dexter, and Bernice
Q: I am the city where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, sparking national mourning and riots. What am I?
A: Memphis, Tennessee
Q: I am Martin Luther King Jr.’s most famous speech, delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. What am I?
A: “I Have a Dream”
Q: I am the Baptist minister who greatly influenced Martin Luther King Jr.’s views on civil disobedience and nonviolence. Who am I?
A: Howard Thurman
Riddles about Key Events in the Civil Rights Movement
Q: I am the 1955 act of defiance that helped launch the civil rights movement when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. What am I?
A: The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Q: I am the 1956 Supreme Court ruling that deemed segregation on public buses unconstitutional. What am I?
A: Browder v. Gayle
Q: I am the 1957 civil rights campaign in which black students integrated Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. What am I?
A: The Little Rock Nine
Q: I am the 1960 sit-in demonstrations by college students against segregated lunch counters. What am I?
A: The Greensboro Sit-Ins
Q: I am the 1961 “freedom rides” challenging segregation in interstate bus and rail stations. What am I?
A: The Freedom Rides
Q: I am the 1963 demonstration for jobs and freedom, where King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. What am I?
A: The March on Washington
Q: I am the 1964 Civil Rights Act that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. What am I?
A: The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Q: I am the 1965 marches from Selma to Montgomery to secure voting rights for African Americans. What am I?
A: The Selma to Montgomery Marches
Q: I am the 1965 Voting Rights Act signed into law, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting. What am I?
A: The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Riddles about Key Figures in the Civil Rights Movement
Q: I am an African American seamstress who refused to give up her bus seat, igniting the Montgomery bus boycott. Who am I?
A: Rosa Parks
Q: I am the first African American Supreme Court Justice and a legal giant of the civil rights movement. Who am I?
A: Thurgood Marshall
Q: I am a Southern Baptist minister and King’s right-hand man in the SCLC. Who am I?
A: Ralph Abernathy
Q: I am a charismatic SCLC leader known for my commitment to nonviolence and organizing the Poor People’s Campaign after King’s death. Who am I?
A: Ralph David Abernathy
Q: I am a Baptist minister and co-founder of the SCLC known for my fearless activism in Birmingham. Who am I?
A: Fred Shuttlesworth
Q: I am a young Baptist minister whose beating by police in Selma sparked national outrage. Who am I?
A: James Reeb
Q: I am the first African American woman elected to Congress, a civil rights trailblazer. Who am I?
A: Shirley Chisholm
Q: I am an NAACP organizer and advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. during the Montgomery bus boycott. Who am I?
A: E.D. Nixon
Q: I am a sharecropper who was murdered for registering African Americans to vote in Mississippi. Who am I?
A: Vernon Dahmer
Q: I am a high school student integrating Little Rock Central High School, immortalized in photographs. Who am I?
A: Elizabeth Eckford
Riddles about Places Important to the Civil Rights Movement
Q: I am the Alabama city where the Montgomery bus boycott took place in 1955. What am I?
A: Montgomery
Q: I am the Arkansas capital where the Little Rock Nine integrated a high school in 1957. What am I?
A: Little Rock
Q: I am the Alabama city where King wrote his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in 1963. What am I?
A: Birmingham
Q: I am the Alabama city where bloody marches from Selma took place in 1965. What am I?
A: Selma
Q: I am the Mississippi town where three civil rights activists were murdered in 1964, inspiring protest. What am I?
A: Philadelphia, Mississippi
Q: I am the Washington, D.C. memorial where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. What am I?
A: The Lincoln Memorial
Q: I am the Tennessee city where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. What am I?
A: Memphis
Q: I am the Georgia island where Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” What am I?
A: St. Simons Island
Q: I am the Alabama city that was the endpoint of the Selma to Montgomery marches. What am I?
A: Montgomery
Q: I am the North Carolina city where sit-ins successfully integrated lunch counters in 1960. What am I?
A: Greensboro
Riddles about Key Themes Related to Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Rights
Q: I am the protest tactic embraced by King, based on resisting nonviolently. What am I?
A: Civil Disobedience
Q: I am the struggle for equality under the law, regardless of race, creed, or color. What am I?
A: Civil Rights
Q: I am the belief that people should not be judged by skin color but by character. What am I?
A: Racial Equality
Q: I am the policy of strict racial segregation and discrimination. What am I?
A: Racial Segregation
Q: I am the effort to register disenfranchised voters, especially in the South. What am I?
A: Voter Registration Drives
Q: I am boycotts, sit-ins, marches, and protests for freedom and justice. What am I?
A: Direct Action
Q: I am the ideal of brotherhood and sisterhood among all races and creeds. What am I?
A: Beloved Community
Q: I am the struggle for dignity, respect, and human rights. What am I?
A: Civil Rights Movement
Q: I am King’s vision of harmony and equality between all races. What am I?
A: The Dream
Q: I am King’s emphasis on redemptive, unarmed suffering to evoke conscience. What am I?
A: Redemptive Suffering
Conclusion
How did you do with these riddles about Martin Luther King Jr. Day? Riddles can be a fun way to challenge ourselves and gain new perspectives on important historical events and figures like King and the civil rights movement. As Martin Luther King Jr. Day approaches each year, take time to reflect on the dream of justice, nonviolence, and brotherhood that King stood for. His example provides enduring inspiration as we continue efforts towards equality and freedom in our nation and world today.
