-
Birth: Atlanta, Georgia
-
His Childhood
He lived with his parents, Reverend Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King, as well as his grandparents and his two siblings, Christine and Alfred Daniel Williams King. The King children all took piano lessons from their mother. Their father was a Baptist minister, and was in charge of teaching them their strong religious beliefs. They also enjoyed playing sports such as football and baseball. Martin started to slowly notice the unfair treatment of blacks. -
His Strong Faith
He became a Baptist minister. His faith was undoubtedly strong and believed every individual deserved to be treated with love and respect. Every person deserved equal rights. -
Education
He began college at the age of 15. He graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He also obtained his doctorate in Systematic Theology from Boston University in 1955. -
Family Man
King married Coretta Scott and they had four children together. He was a caring and loving father, who taught them to love and respect others, but peacefully stand up for what they believed in when there was injustice. -
Leader of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
Although he thought about pursuing an academic career, in 1954, he decided to accept an offer to become the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He became a strong leader for the civil rights movement. -
Leader of The Montgomery Bus Boycott
After Rosa Parks, a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus, she was arrested. King, with others, decided to protest. He became the leader of the boycott and utilized the leadership abilities he had gained from his religious background and academic training to forge a distinctive protest strategy that involved the mobilization of black churches and skillful appeals for white support. -
"I Have a Dream" Speech
He led a large march on Washington and gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. 250,000 people listened to his powerful speech. King states, "I have a dream that one day in Alabama,
with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips
dripping with the words of interposition and nullification,
one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black
girls will he able to join hands with little white boys and
white girls as sisters and brothers." -
Noble Peace Prize
He was rightfully awarded this prize due to his strong encouragement of love and equality for one another regardless of the color of our skin. His fight for social justice was changing the way many people viewed one another. -
50 Mile March
King led an empowering march of protesters from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. He always believed and encouraged to "fight with love", not violence. -
He Fought Until His Death
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee, while standing on a balcony at 6 p.m. He once stated, Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." His legacy will forever continue. Thanks to him it is no longer legal in the United States to segregate or discriminate based on skin color.
