Martin Luther King Jr.
(1929-1968)
- Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the greatest
Civil Rights leaders and is probably the best known. King was born
in Atlanta, Georgia, January 15, 1929, and was the eldest son of
Martin Luther King Sr. He went to college at the age of fifteen
and became a Baptist minister at the age of seventeen.
- Martin Luther King Jr. was involved in racism
at an early age. When he was only six he encountered racism when
parents of a white friend cut their friendship short because of
Martin's skin color.
- Martin Luther King Jr. followed the teachings
of Mahatma Gandhi which stressed nonviolent civil disobedience.
- In 1958 King wrote his first book Stride
Toward Freedom .
- In 1960 he became the president of Southern
Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
- King organized the massive March on Washington
(Aug. 28,1963) where he gave his brilliant "
I Have a Dream" Speech. This made many
people change to a positive view of integration.
- He died on April 4th, 1968 by an assassin's
bullet.
Home