Martin Luther King, Jr. was born Michael Luther on January 15, 1929. After some time, he chose to be called Martin. Martin is a well-known lobbyist and minister defending the rights of the African-American community.
He was brought up in the Southern part of America when the African-American society was seen as nothing but slaves. He attended public school in Georgia and graduated high school at the age of fifteen. In 1948, he received the Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Morehouse College, a distinguished African-American institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated.
When Martin was studying in Boston for graduate school, he met Coretta Scott who also shared his passion for equality for the African-American society. Shortly after they met, they decided to get married and had four wonderful children, two sons, and two daughters.
It was no surprise that Martin became a pastor as his father and grandfather were both pastors at Ebenezer Baptist Church. He served his church as his father’s protégé until he died. He was not only a civil rights icon but he was also considered a martyr in 2 other Christian churches in America.
A march for peace and prosperity was held on August 28, 1963 in Washington. History was made in the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington as Martin Luther King, Jr delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of more than 250,000 people who came to witness and hear this well-known national speaker. Later that year, he was named as Time’s Man of the Year.
He was arrested several times and became a target of violent threats. He was reciting his views and aspirations for a better America from Birmingham Jail in one of those times when he was restrained where he wrote the famous Birmingham Letter. His many protests helped convince the U.S. Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act made it illegal to treat African Americans or other ethnic groups unfairly.
It was the same year (1964), at the age of 35, he became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil obedience and other non-violent means. In the spring of 1968, he travelled to Memphis, Tennessee to lead the protest in support of African American garbage workers to give them better working conditions. While standing on the balcony of his motel room, he was assassinated by James Earl Ray, a convict who had escaped from jail.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s name will be honoured as long as his crusade for equality of treatment will remain sustained in our society today. Martin Luther King, Jr Day is annually celebrated on the third Monday of January. This MLK Day, take a moment to remember how one life, devoted to the good of others, can make a huge impact on the world.
As a helpful resource Debi Pearl, an old white lady from rural Tennessee, has written a tribute to MLK titled Listen To My Dream. Find out more, including why she was motivated to write it, through the links above.
- Burger King College Scholarships You must have heard how there are many unclaimed scholarships...
- Review your business short time and long time Goals to face global economic’s Crisis By this 2009 economic’s turbulance and gobal economics crash, there...
- George S May – King Of Management Consultants George S May is a management consultancy firm addressing the...
- Study More About Building Content As The King And Increase Backlinks As The Queen However how does to develop your ranking? The majority people...
- Advice With Scholarships For African Americans America is known as the land of immigrants. People from...