Research Paper: Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was not the only Civil Rights’ activist. Though, if he had not been assassinated, the Civil Rights Movement would have taken longer to pass.
“A man who will not die for something is not fit to live.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. He was born to Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. King Jr. had an older sister, Willie Christine King, and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King. Growing up in Atlanta, King attended Booker T. Washington High School. A very intelligent student, he skipped both the 9th and the 12th grade and entered Morehouse College at fifteen without graduating from high school. In 1948, he graduated from Morehouse with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology, and enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary. He graduated from Crozer with a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1951.
After his scholar years, he married Correta Scott in Heiberger, Alabama on June 18, 1953. They became the parents of four children; Yolanda King, Martin Luther King III, Dexter Scott King, and Bernice King. In 1954, when he was 25, he became the pastor at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
King's interest in a strike of black sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee in the spring of 1968 reflected his growing concern with economic issues. The workers wanted pay equal to that of whites. Taking time out from planning sessions for the Poor People's March, King flew to Memphis on 28 March to participate in a rally of 6000 people. The presence of Black Panthers in the crowd, however, and the violence they initiated, led King to remove himself and his supporters from the march that day. King went back to Atlanta briefly for SCLC work, but returned to Memphis in time for a second march, which he hoped would be peaceful. King had stayed at the Holiday Inn during his first visit, but, on account of criticism that those accommodations were
“A man who will not die for something is not fit to live.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. He was born to Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. King Jr. had an older sister, Willie Christine King, and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King. Growing up in Atlanta, King attended Booker T. Washington High School. A very intelligent student, he skipped both the 9th and the 12th grade and entered Morehouse College at fifteen without graduating from high school. In 1948, he graduated from Morehouse with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology, and enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary. He graduated from Crozer with a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1951.
After his scholar years, he married Correta Scott in Heiberger, Alabama on June 18, 1953. They became the parents of four children; Yolanda King, Martin Luther King III, Dexter Scott King, and Bernice King. In 1954, when he was 25, he became the pastor at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
King's interest in a strike of black sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee in the spring of 1968 reflected his growing concern with economic issues. The workers wanted pay equal to that of whites. Taking time out from planning sessions for the Poor People's March, King flew to Memphis on 28 March to participate in a rally of 6000 people. The presence of Black Panthers in the crowd, however, and the violence they initiated, led King to remove himself and his supporters from the march that day. King went back to Atlanta briefly for SCLC work, but returned to Memphis in time for a second march, which he hoped would be peaceful. King had stayed at the Holiday Inn during his first visit, but, on account of criticism that those accommodations were