In 2005, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute was created to provide an institutional home for a broad range of activities illuminating the Nobel Peace laureate’s life and the movements he inspired. The Institute’s endowment supports programs that serve as an enduring link between Stanford’s research resources and King’s dream of global peace with social justice.

Clayborne Carson is a professor of history at Stanford University and founding director of the King Institute. Dr. Clayborne Carson has devoted his professional life to the study of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the movements King inspired.

In honor of the King Holiday, the King Institute hosts an event each year, featuring music, dramatic readings, documentaries, and multimedia installations.

Each year the center holds an annual King Conference on Peace with Social Justice, in conjunction with the Aurora Forum.

In June 2007, the King Institute and the National Theatre Company of China staged the international premiere of the play Passages of Martin Luther King in Beijing, China.