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Birth
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He was named after his father, Michael King, who was a Protestant Pastor, but his name was changed in honor to Martin Lutero. -
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Academic life
When he was fifteen years old, he got into Morehouse College, a university only for black people, without even having finished his secondary studies. In 1948, he graduated in sociology and two years later, Martin specialised in theology in the University of Boston. When he had twenty-five years, he became Pastor. -
Outcry in Montgomery
Due to the detention of a black woman after not giving her seat to a white man in a bus, King (inspired by the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi) decided to start a movement against racism without using violence. As he was a well-known Protestant Pastor, he suggested to the black community not to use public transport. During this boycott, Martin went to prison and was threatened with death in several times. -
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Birmingham´s campaign
After the success of the boycott, he became the leader of campaigns which fought for human rights (all of them refused violence), like the one in Birmingham, Alabama. The main purpose was to achieve the right of vote of coloured people and improve education and living conditions of the southern states. Actually, he was supported by John F. Kennedy. -
March on Washington
The 250,000 persons who were part of this march around Washington, heard the famous speech of Martin Luther King,“I have a dream”, which is considered one of the best speeches in history. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm -
Noble Prize
One year after his speech, he received the Noble Peace Prize. He was the youngest person ever to win it (35 years). -
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War of Vietnam
Martin harshly criticised how the United States were acting in this conflict. Consequently, many people (even black ones) were against him. He didńt agree with communists but he totally refused the idea of imposing on another country. Apart from that, he collaborated in a campaign that wanted the end of poverty. -
Death
Finally, he was murdered in a hotel of Memphis, Tennessee, by James Earl Ray, a fugitive and a segregationist.
In order to commemorate his death, the fifteen of January (the day of his birth) is a public holiday in U.S.A.
