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Birth
On the 15th of January, Martin Luther King was born. -
Education and Religion
Martin Luther King went to Morehouse College and graduated with a degree in sociology, before becoming a pastor at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and gaining a PhD at Boston Universirty for systematic theology. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott happened when Rosa Parks, a passenger on a bus refused to yield her seat to a white person. Although initially found guilty, the ruling was reversed and led to a Supreme Court Decision that segregated buses were unconstitutional. -
Albany Movement
The Albany Movement was a movement associated with Martin Luther King with the aim of desegregation throughout Albany. Although unsuccessful, it served to help King to decide on methods of protest for the future. -
Birmingham Campaign
On the second of May 1963, thousands of children skipped school, becoming anti-segregation demonstrators in a plan run by Martin Luther King. The next day, the jails filled with children and police changed their tactics to using violence against them. Eventually, the government agreed to the demands of the protesters and the campaign was called off. -
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
On August 8th, thousands of people converged on Washington in what would become one of the largest political rallies in the United States, with over 200,000 people participating. During the march, Marting Luther King made his now famous "I have a Dream" speech which is now regarded as one of the key acts during the desegregation movements. The march is believed to have been a key factor in the passing of anti-segregation Acts in Congress. -
Nobel Prize
On October 14, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in desegregation using non-violent methods. He also had received over 50 different honorary degrees during his lifetime, and was voted Time Person of the Year in 1963. -
"Bloody Sunday"
On the seventh of March, A protest left Selma and continued until it met a group of state troopers at the Edmund Pettus bridge. The troopers had been mobilized by the police force, which had ordered every white male over the age of 21 to be conscripted. A brutal attack followed, with over 15 marchers hospitalized with severe injuries and prompting Martin Luther King to organize two more marches against the whites, which eventually succeeded and shifted public opinion about the protesters. -
Spreading the Movement
In the year of 1966, Martin Luther King and his supporters attempted to spread the movement into Chicago and other cities in the North, with Chicago as their first destination. During the protest, mobs attacked them and marches were cancelled in order to prevent the onset of riots. -
The Vietnam War
On April the fourth, 1967, Martin Luther King made a public appearance against the Vietnam War. In it, he stated that the US was becoming more violent and that the war was wasting resources, as the amount of money and food used for the war could have been used for anti-poverty programs and other projects in the US. -
Assassination
On April the third, King made his final speech. The next day, he was shot by an assassin while he was standing on the balcony, fatally injuring him and causing nationwide riots in response to his death. Eventually, the killer was caught and sentenced to 99 years in prison.
