Created in 1974, the A.J. Muste Memorial Institute raises funds to support activist projects through grants and sponsorships. In 1981 the Institute launched its Essay Series on Nonviolence with a pamphlet featuring the speeches and letters of Martin Luther King, Jr. Since then, the Institute has distributed thousands of pamphlets, and has provided grants and sponsorships to hundreds of grassroots projects around the world working to: end war and expose the military-industrial complex; oppose nuclear power and halt environmental racism; stop the death penalty and curb the prison industry; defend labor rights and build economic justice; fight for racial and sexual equality, and for immigrant rights; and promote the use of nonviolent action.