Martin Luther King Jr. By: Henry Kerns

Early Life On January 15, 1929 Michael Luther King Jr. was born. Soon after he was born he changed his name to the name we all know him as, Martin Luther King Jr. His hometown was Atlanta Georgia. His parents, Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King were both reverends.

In 1948 Martin graduated from Booker T In 1948 Martin graduated from Booker T. Washington High School at a shocking age of 15 years old. Soon after his graduation, Martin enrolled in Boston University. He entered Boston University for graduate studies. Martin soon graduated in 1948 and entered the Crozer Theological Seminary. He was 19 at the time of his graduation.

After College Martin left college earning a Doctorate Degree in Systematic Theology Once Martin Graduated from Boston College, he met his wife Coretta Scott . After the two of them got married, they settled in Montgomery Alabama. They had 4 children.

An Impact On History On December 1, 1955 the well known Rosa Parks was arrested for not obeying the segregation laws. 5 days later , a boycott arose to defend the rights of that brave woman. Martin was given the role to be the head spokesman for the boycott. Also he was elected for the Montgomery Improvement Committee for his great leadership and speaking skills.

Martin was chosen to lead the 381 day bus boycott held throughout the deep south.

Though Martin never rode the buses with the protestors, he spoke for them. Eventually after his persuasive words sunk in, congress stated that segregated buses were unconstitutional.

Martin was jailed over 20 times and he had even been stabbed in the chest. He was targeted for bombings. Suffered from numerous personal attacks and letters of hate. For a man having only peaceful intentions, he spent most of his life living with violent actions directed towards him and his family.

Martin and his Family’s courage show how dedicated they were to fighting for freedom in the United States of America.

From 1957 to 1968 Martin traveled over 6 million miles, he delivered over 2,500 speeches, wrote 5 books and many articles. His hard work and communication ability gained him much respect in the world. John F. Kennedy personally met with Martin to tell him how much of an impact he is making on the world and the American culture.

Throughout all of Martin’s speeches, the speech that was most predominant was the “I have a dream” speech. This speech was delivered from the foot of the Lincoln Memorial. 250,000 people gathered to listen to King’s powerful speech.

In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the highly renowned Nobel Prize Award.

While King was in Memphis, he led a protest against striking garbage workers. He delivered a speech called “I've been to the mountain top” Sadly, this would be his last speech.

While he was staying at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, he was assassinated. King’s speeches and movements will remain a part of history forever.

Works Cited The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Web. 30 Sept. 2011. <http://www.thekingcenter.org/>. King Institute Home. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. <http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/>. "Martin Luther King Jr." America's Story from America's Library. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. <http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/king/aa_king_subj.html>. Song-Dog Days Are Over By: Florence and the Machine

Picture Sources http://www.history.com/photos/martin-luther-king- jr/photo6 emersonkent.com commonscold.typepad.com http://goodjesuitbadjesuit.blogspot.com/2011/04/recas ting-mlk-in-liberation-theology.html sowingculture.wordpress.com