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Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birth
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Martin Luther King was the son of a Baptist minister, Martin Senior, and a schoolteacher, Alberta Williams King. -
A victim of racial discrimination
Aged 14, King was forced to give up his bus seat for a white passenger on a ride home from Georgia.This humiliating episode spurred him on to confront the injustice of segregation. -
Ordained as a minister
At 15 King followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather to attend Morehouse College, which was accepting younger students. -
Martin Luther King Jr. marries Coretta
King met future wife Coretta Scott, a talented young singer, while studying in Boston.His father wanted him to marry into a more influential family but King was won over by Coretta's beauty and commitment to campaigning for social justice. -
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Martin leads the Montgomery bus boycott
King was chosen to lead an African-American bus boycott that eventually lasted 381 days. The action was successful and in 1956, the US Supreme Court ruled that Montgomery’s bus segregation policy was unconstitutional. -
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Martin struggles to find direction
King and the SCLC hoped to build on the success of Montgomery by expanding the bus boycotts across the south. But his plans were frustrated. In some places, the African-American population was too small to make a boycott effective. -
Martin travels to India to meet Gandhi’s relatives
On a five-week tour of India he met with Gandhi's family and Prime Minister Nehru. He was struck by the parallels between India's treatment of members of the Untouchable caste and the treatment of African-Americans in the US.King returned home determined to translate non-violence into social change. -
Martin jailed during the Birmingham Campaign
In 1963 King targeted Birmingham, Alabama, one of America’s most segregated cities staging a massive program of boycotts, marches and sit-ins.King was imprisoned as a result. -
Martin Luther King Jr is asassined
Martin Luther Asassination was very painful and if that day had never come he would have accomplished great things and would have inspired more people. The asassin was named James Earl Ray. James was not found until 8 June 1968.
