Martin Luther King, Jr.

There was a man in this world who stood up for what he believed was right. There was a man in this world who inspired others. There was a man in this world who when he spoke it was so quiet you could hear the grass growing. There was a man in this world who fought until he was heard. There was a man in this world who made a difference. This man was Martin Luther King, Jr.

Michael Luther King, Jr., otherwise known as Martin Luther King, Jr., was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His mother, Alberta King, was a schoolteacher and his father, Michael Luther King, was a Baptist minister. He had an older sister named Christine and a younger brother named Alfred Daniel. As a child, Martin was so smart that he skipped both the ninth and twelfth grades. At the age of fifteen he applied to Morehouse College in Atlanta where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree. While he was attending Morehouse, he met Benjamin E. Mays who inspired him to become a minister. He earned his Bachelor of Divinity degree at Croser Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in theology at Boston University. At Boston University he met the love of his life, Coretta Scott. They were married in 1953 and had four children, Yolanda, Martin, Dexter, and Bernice. Then in 1954 Dr. King became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Church in Alabama. While he was there he was asked to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which he willingly agreed to do. African Americans boycotted buses because white people would not allow them to sit in the front of the bus. The boycott lasted for 381 days and ended victoriously in 1956. On January 30, shortly after the boycott, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s home was bombed.

After the boycott Dr. King was asked to be in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which is made up of black churches and ministers whose aim is to bring an end to racial segregation. To accomplish its goal, the SCLC led marches, demonstrations, and boycotts. Dr. King became a very articulate and persuasive speaker. The world took notice in August 1963 when he delivered his most famous speech, "I Have a Dream." In his speech, Dr. King said, “I have a dream, it is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream…a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Over two hundred thousand people came to hear this famous speech. The words continue to echo in people's souls today.

In 1965 Dr. King joined another march which was over 50 miles long and would proceed to Montgomery. The goal of the march was to draw attention to the voting rights of blacks. The police responded by spraying pepper spray and beating the marchers. The events were televised and the day became known as Bloody Sunday. The marchers received a federal court order to stop the march. However, the movement could not be contained and two weeks after Bloody Sunday more than three thousand people started the march again. Five days later, they arrived in Montgomery where Martin Luther King, Jr. held a rally in front of the capitol building. Over twenty thousand people participated in the rally.

In 1966 and 1967 he began to shift the focus from civil rights to economic reforms. He began to talk about the nation's wealth compared to the poverty of blacks. In 1967 he started planning a Poor People’s Campaign to pressure the nation's lawmakers for economic reform. He sent blacks into white neighborhoods to protest economic injustice. Sadly, many of these protests ended with violence.

The push for economic reforms took Dr. King to Memphis, Tennessee where he was assassinated by James Earl Ray in the spring of 1968. The assassination resulted in an backlash of rioting in over 100 U.S. cities. James Earl Ray was sentenced to jail for ninety-nine years and even though investigators suspect he did not act alone, no one else has ever been arrested.

After his death, Dr. King became an icon of black courage and achievement for his moral leadership and efforts to challenge Americans to address and overcome racial divisions. Dr. King’s historical importance was memorialized at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Social Justice, and a research institute in Atlanta. The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, which includes his birthplace, the Ebenezer Church, and the King Center, where he is buried are also located in Atlanta. In my opinion, though, the most important memorial is the national holiday designated by the Congress of the United States in 1983 to honor Dr. King.

Martin Luther King was an extraordinary man. He stood up for what he believed no matter what anyone said or did. His "I Have a Dream" and "Certainly I Don't Want to Die" speeches are unforgettable. His words inspired and changed the lives of African Americans across the nation.