Martin
Luther King, Jr. was born on 15th January, 1929, in Atlanta Georgia. He was a
notable American pastor, humanitarian, activist, and leader in the
African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the
advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience. On October 14,
1964, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality
through nonviolence.
Childhood
King
was born to Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. King’s
birth name was "Michael King" which was the birth name of his father
too. But his father "changed" both names on his own during a 1934
trip to Nazi Germany to attend the Fifth Baptist World Alliance Congress in
Berlin. During this trip, in the honor of the German reformer Martin Luther, he
chose to be called Martin Luther King.
Education
Martin
Luther King Jr had mostly grown up in Atlanta. There he attended Booker T.
Washington High School, but being an extra ordinary kid; he skipped both the
ninth and the twelfth grades. Later, at only 15, he got enrolled into Morehouse
College without formally graduating from high school. He completed his B.A.
degree in sociology, and in 1948 entered into Crozer Theological Seminary in
Chester, Pennsylvania, from which he graduated with a B.Div. Degree.
Career
At
a very early age, Martin Luther King Jr became a civil rights activist. In 1955, he led Montgomery Bus Boycott over
the reserved seats for whites, and in 1957, helped founding the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In 1962, with SCLC, King organized
non-violent protests in Birmingham, Alabama and an unsuccessful struggle
against segregation in Albany, Georgia. But attracted national attention
following television news coverage. In 1963, King led the March on Washington,
where he delivered his famous speech "I Have a Dream"; and got his
reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history.
In
1965, he organized the Selma to Montgomery marches and later took the movement
to Chicago to work on issue of segregated housing. In 1967, Martin Luther King
Jr delivered “Beyond Vietnam” in which he criticized America’s instance on the
Vietnam War.
At
the End
In
1968, King actively organized and promoted “Poor People’s Campaign” to address
issues of economic injustice and traveled the country to gather the people for
March on Washington.
On
April 3rd, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr went to Memphis where he took a rally in
support of black sanitary public work employees who had been on strike for
higher wages and better treatment over white workers. On the very next day,
King was assassinated while he was staying at Lorraine Motel.
