A student sleeps at the safe house, his copy of King’s Stride Toward Freedom close at hand (ph. Paul Schutzer)
Gallery: MLK & the Freedom Rides
Nearly 50 years after the Freedom Rides and in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, LIFE.com presents never-seen photos taken by Paul Schutzer, tracking King and the nation-changing movement he led, from the monuments of Washington to the streets of the Deep South.