Martin+Luther+King,+Jr.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. ...



Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 as Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin. He graduated High School at 15, went to several different colleges and earned several degrees. In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott. They had two sons and two daughters. Martin Luther King is mostly know for being a leader of the American Civil Rights movement, a political activist, and a Baptist minister. On December 5, 1995, black residents of Montgomery, Alabama created a bus boycott and they elected King as president of the MIA (Montgomery Improvement Association). The boycott continued through 1956. In December 1956, the United States Supreme Court declared that Alabama's laws were unconstitutional and the Montgomery busses were desegregated. King wanted to build on the success in Montgomery, so he and other black ministers founded the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference). He was also involved in many other orgnizations. He traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times. His most famous speech was the "I Have a Dream" speech, whch was given on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. In 1963 he was named Man of the Year by Time magazine. And In 1964 he was the youngest man to be awarded the Nobel Prize. On April 4th, 1968, he was assassinated on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee before he was to lead a protest march. He was buried in the Southview Cemetery. On his crypt were the carved the words: "Free At Last, Free At Last, Thank God Almighty I'm Free At Last". Years after his death he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. And in 1986, Martin Luther King Day was made a United States Holiday.



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Click here to read the "I Have a Dream" speech