Civil Rights We will be developing an understanding of the beliefs of Martin Luther King Jnr.
O Born as Michael Luther King on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He later changed his name to Martin. O His parents were: Alberta Williams King and Reverend Martin Luther King Sr.
O King married Coretta Scott on June 18, 1953 O They had four children: O Yolanda Denise (17 Nov. 1955) O Martin Luther III (23 Oct. 1957) O Dexter Scott (30 Jan. 1961) O Bernice Alberine (28 March 1963)
O King attended segregated public schools in Georgia O He graduated from high school at the age of 15 O In 1948 he graduated from Morehouse College with a B.A. degree in Sociology and in 1951 he was awarded a B.D. (Bachelor of Divinity). O In 1955, King received a Doctorate in Systematic Theology from Boston University.
When studying at University, King attended a lecture on Gandhi. King admired Gandhi’s non- violence campaign and success against the British government.
O King protested against racial segregation and discrimination of blacks in the Southern States. O His methods of non-violent direct action were supported by many people and so the campaign for equality turned into a mass movement. O The movement achieved two great victories: O The Civil Rights Act of 1964 O The Voting Rights Act of 1965
O In December 1964, at the age of 35, Dr. King was the youngest man, the second American and the third black man awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. O He declared that every penny of the $ 54,000 would be used in the ongoing civil rights struggle.
O On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennesssee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated by James Earl Ray.
" King became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure.“
‘I have a Dream…’