Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Alabama, Georgia. He is the middle child of two siblings.
After being baptized a couple years prior in May his grandmother died of a heart attack. This took a big affect on Martin because he was out watching a parade against his parents wishes when she died. It was a traumatic experience for him.
Martin never did graduate from high school but he was accepted into college by the age of 15. He graduated from Morehouse College with a Bachelor of Divinity.
Martin met and married Coretta Scott and had four children. They settled in Montgomery, Alabama where he became a pastor of a Baptist Church.
After getting married he finishes his doctorate degree at Systematic Theology of Boston University. Where he also receives many recognitions and awards.
Rosa Parks got on the bus and sat in the "colored" section. At one point in the trip there were some whites that were standing and the bus driver demanded that she give up her seat but she refused. She was arrested for violating the rules. Civil rights leaders came to Martin and he gave his first speech regarding this incident. Within 382 days the court put an end to segregated public transportation.
After the bus boycott, Martin and some other ministers came together and created the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) that organized the black churches. He became the head of the organization and this group is committed to get full equality for African Americans through nonviolence.
A group of African American students started this movement by siting at the white's lunch counters.. When asked to move they would stay put and because of it they would be verbally or physically abused. Officials came to Martin about it and he told the students to continue with non-violence. By August they had successfully stopped segregation at the lunch counters in 27 southern states.
Martin Luther King and a large number of his followers were put in jail for organizing a demonstration. The city police turned their dogs and fire hoses on those a part of the demonstrations. Many people on the white and black side accused Martin and his tactics.
After being let out of jail, Martin and his supporters make plans for a massive demonstration to ask for a peaceful change. More than 200,000 people came to the Lincoln Memorial to hear Martin Luther King Jr. give his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Hoping that one day they could all be brothers.
He worked with civil rights and religious groups to organize a peaceful political rally to show the injustices African Americans continue to face across the country. This ended up leading to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The youngest person to ever be awarded the Noble Peace Prize. He was also named Man of the Year by Time Magazine.
In Selma, they brought attention to the violence that has come between white segregationists and peaceful demonstrators. Many people came to Selma to take part in the March to Montgomery led by King. In August, congress passed the Voting Rights Act that gave all African Americans the right to vote.
Martin Luther King Jr. was in Memphis to support a sanitation workers' strike. While there, he was shot from a balcony in a motel by James Earl Ray, who later pleaded guilty for the murder.
President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S. Federal holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. The first celebration was in 1986. It is celebrated on the 3rd Monday of January.
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