Was Martin Luther King a hero, or a villain? Listening to Martin Luther King speak about freedom, it's hard for anyone not to feel a swell of pride. But to judge politicians (and King was a politician, even if he wasn't elected), we have to go beyond words. We have to judge the content of their character, not just the color of their language. King is credited as ushering in the civil rights era under Lyndon Johnson. Specifically, these three laws: 1 - Civil Rights Act of 1964 2 - Voting Rights Act of 1965 3 - Fair Housing Act of 1968 Let's look at each in turn, and then you can decide if Martin Luther King is a hero, or a villain.