Extravagant. Inspirational. Winner of the noble peace prize. Winner of five honoray degrees. One of the principle leaders of the United States Civil Rights Movement. This person became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure. Who is this person? None other then the person we have came to know as Martin Luther King Jr..
Micheal King Jr. formally known as Martin Luther King Jr., was born on january 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia. He was the second child and the first son of Micheal King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. The father and later the son adopted the name Martin Luther after the religious figure who found the Lutheran denomination. King grew up in a secure and loving environment, As he said in " An Autobiography of religious Development", an essay written for a class at Crozer Seminary when he was 23 and I quote :"It is quite easy for me to think of a God of love mainly because I grew up in a family where love was central and where lovely relationship were even present," end quote. However, not even a secure and loving environment could shield King Jr. from the rasicm. At the age of 6 Martin struggled to understand what segregation and prejudice was when he was told that he couldn't play with his two best friends anymore because he was black.
King was influenced by two incredible people in his life. His mother who was a school teacher, and his father who was the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church. Martin King Sr. was an idol to King Jr. as well as a father. He was a strong man who fought for everything in his life, even for what he thought was right, and he wasn't afraid of anyone. He showed Martin the example of segregation, made it clear that he would never accept the cruel system, and that he would fight against it until the day he dies. Martin Jr. was amazed by his father's achievements and was proud to be named after him. As much as Martin's father influenced him, his mother too, served as a equal inspiration in his life. She taught Martin how to read before he started school. She also tried to explain prejudice and the Jim Crow Laws that separated whites from blacks. She explained that Civil War and how it ended slavery, but not the hatred and prejudice between whites and blacks. However, she made sure that Martin would never step foot out into the world without knowing what was going on, and she told him the most inspirational words that he never forgot," You are as good as Anyone". Martin Luther King Jr. had grand times with his friends, he also spent time meditating and reading. Martin's favorite books were about black history, and the men and women who had made it. As Martin read about these men and women who had did such big things, a dream began to grow inside him. He wanted to do something big, something important with his life, too. Young Martin was an excellent student in school, he skipped grades in both elementary school and high school. He began his education at the Younge Street Elementary School in Atlanta Georgia. Following Younge School, he was enrolled in David T. Howard Elementary School.
Martin Luther King Jr.was highly educated and he graduated from Booker T. Washington High school at the age of 15, entering Morehouse College in Atlanta. He had many ideas for a job, but his final decision was to become a minister. At the age of 17, he gave his first sermon as a preacher. At the age of 18, he graduated from Morehouse college. He traveled to Pennsylvania to study at the Crozer Theological Seminary. King then graduated from Crozer in 1951 with honor, and went to Boston University to get his doctorate in theology. In february 1952, he met Correta Scott, a smart girl who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. After spending much time together they finally decided to tie the knot and were married june of 1953. Afterwards Martin, decided to go down south to work as the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
In Montgomery while on his pursuit to work as a pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Martin first achieved national recognition when he helped mobilise the black boycott of the Montgomery bus system in 1955. The boycott stemmed from the experience of Mrs. Rosa Parks, who while sitting in the section on the bus for whites only, was asked to give up her seat for a white passenger. After her refusal, the driver then called the police, and had Rosa Parks arrested for violating the cities segregation ordinances. The next morning Mr. E.D Nixon, a civil rights activist, asked Martin to help organize a one-day bus boycott of the Montgomery bus line. Initually, a one day boycott turned into 382 days. The boycott was proven to be a success when blacks refused to ride the Montgomery bus line. The event started the Civil Rights Movement and changed the spirit Martin Luther King Jr..
A year after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Jim Crow laws were illegal. Martin believed that he had to continue his fight, despite the ruling of the Supreme Court, because many whites continued to hold the belief of the Jim Crow Laws. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was so fascinating that he wrote a book about it called; The Stride To Freedom.
In 1957, King was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, organization formed to co-ordinate protest against discrimination. He advocated non- violent direct action based on the methods of Gandhi, who led protests against British rule in India culminating in India's Independence in 1947. In the eleven- year period between 1957 and 1968, King left his position as pastor of the Dexter Avenue Church and returned to Atlanta to work with his father. This would allow him more time to work for the civil rights of blacks. Martin traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty - five hundred times, appearing where ever there was injustice, protest, and action. He wanted all unfair laws changed, and he wanted blacks to register and vote. Meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles.
In 1963, Martin Luther King led a March in Birmingham, Alabama, and it became very violent. Police used fire hoses and dogs to disperse the demonstration. It appeared that the police were more violent than the demonstrators. They even harmed small children who were in the march. King urged Blacks to meet violence with non-violence when something wrong happened. During the march Martin was arrested, However that did not stop the Jim Crow Laws of experiencing a major set back. This event caught the attention of the entire world, providing what King called a Coalition of Conscience.
The Civil Rights march in Washington on August 1963 was the one event that united millions of blacks without violence and caught the eye of the world. It was also the place where King's now famous speech " I Have a Dream"......orginated. The speech set the mood for the entire event. My favorite part in his speech was when he said, and i quote;" I have a dream that one daythie nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of it's creed: "we hold these truths to be self- evident, that all men are created equal, end quote. I like that part of the speech, because it shows not only that he cares about blacks and whites being equal, but also that he is trying his best to fight against segregation and prejudice. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream was just for us to all be united together and equal.
After the incredible," I Have a Dream" speech, in 1963 Martin Luther King was chosen as man of the year by Time Magazine. In 1964 he recieved the Nobel Peace Prize that came with a great some of money. Martin gladly gave that some of money to charity to help blacks be more equal with whites. Later Martin met with presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson. These presidents believed in getting rid of the laws that treated blacks unfairly. Johnson hepled push the rights act through Congress.
Martin's next plan was to move to Chicago, where he planned a march for poor Blacks, Whites, Indians, Mexicans, and Puerto Ricans. Tragically, the day before the march, James Earl Ray, a man who could never tolerate blacks, assassinated Dr. King in Memphis, Tennessee.
Despite Dr. King's premature death, his legacy continues to influence many to complete his life's works and ambitions. Because of this, many are living the effects of his dreams, for instants, here within the United States both you and I have lived to see the election of the first African American President, Barack Obama. Additionally, we have come to see the election of the first Latina, Sonia Maria Sotomayor, to serve on the highest court in the land, The Supreme Court. Let's not forget about the first Mexican ranked as the heavy weight champion in the world,Cain Velasquez. So how can you and I pioneer Dr. King's dream? One way is to judge a man not by his color, but by the contant of his character, and by viewing all men as equal. This will indeed promote unity, a sense of brotherhood, and peace that Dr. King spent his entire life striving for.
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