Martin Luther King Jr.

On January 20th, America celebrated the memory of Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Many people know of Martin Luther King Jr. but do you know who he was?

Early Life

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a baptist minister before becoming a full-time activist in 1960. Way before 1960 he started fighting for his rights but that year was the time he dedicated his whole life to making a change. King came from a college-educated middle class family “Sweet Auburn” area of Atlanta. Auburn Street was also known as “Black Wall Street” because it was home to the largest number of Black businesses and churches in the years before the Civil Rights Movement. Although he grew up receiving a solid education with a loving family he experienced the prejudices common in the South.

While visiting Connecticut before college he saw how peaceful both races mixed in the North. King saw his growing hatred of racial segregation only deepened after his summer experience. After college and getting a BA in sociology he met and married Coretta Scott, and moved to Alabama with her. 

The Civil Rights Movement

On December 1, 1955, an African American woman, Rosa Parks, refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger and as a consequence she was arrested. Activists were formed to fight for Rosa Parks and they chose King as their leader. After one year and a few weeks later, the city’s buses were desegregated.

Dr. King spent the period of 1955- 1968 leading boycotts, writing, and spreading awareness of the Civil Rights Movement throughout the country.

One of his most notable public appearances was on August 28, 1963 in Washington D.C. This was the March for Jobs and Freedom, during which he delivered his most famous speech, “I Have A Dream.” This speech was to expose the American public to the injustice of racial segregation and inequality. This speech and the March itself are often identified as the turning point of the Civil Rights Movement and had a lasting impact to this day.

King’s life was cut short on April 4, 1968 when he was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. 

Every day on the third Monday in January we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. and the great sacrifice he made to make the world a better place.