- Occupation: Civil Rights Leader
- Born: January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, GA
- Died: April 4, 1968 in Memphis, TN
- Best known for: Advancing the Civil Rights Movement and his "I Have a Dream" speech
Where did Martin grow up?
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, GA on January 15, 1929. He went to Booker T. Washington High School. He was so smart that he skipped two grades in high school. He started his college education at Morehouse College at the young age of fifteen. After getting his degree in sociology from Morehouse, Martin got a divinity degree from Crozer Seminary and then got his doctor's degree in theology from Boston University.
Martin's dad was a preacher which inspired Martin to pursue the ministry. He had a younger brother and an older sister. In 1953 he married Coretta Scott. Later, they would have four children including Yolanda, Martin, Dexter, and Bernice.
How did he get involved in civil rights?
In his first major civil rights action, Martin Luther King, Jr. led the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This started when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. She was arrested and spent the night in jail. As a result, Martin helped to organize a boycott of the public transportation system in Montgomery. The boycott lasted for over a year. It was very tense at times. Martin was arrested and his house was bombed. In the end, however, Martin prevailed and segregation on the Montgomery buses came to an end.
When did King give his famous "I Have a Dream" speech?
In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. helped to organize the famous "March on Washington". Over 250,000 people attended this march in an effort to show the importance of civil rights legislation. Some of the issues the march hoped to accomplish included an end to segregation in public schools, protection from police abuse, and to get laws passed that would prevent discrimination in employment.
It was at this march where Martin gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. This speech has become one of the most famous speeches in history. The March on Washington was a great success. The Civil Rights Act was passed a year later in 1964.
How did he die?
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4. 1968 in Memphis, TN. While standing on the balcony of his hotel, he was shot by James Earl Ray.
Interesting Facts about Martin Luther King, Jr.
- King was the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a national holiday.
- At the Atlanta premier of the movie Gone with the Wind, Martin sang with his church choir.
- There are over 730 streets in the United States named after Martin Luther King, Jr.
- One of his main influences was Mohandas Gandhi who taught people to protest in a non-violent manner.
- He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- The name on his original birth certificate is Michael King. This was a mistake, however. He was supposed to be named after his father who was named for Martin Luther, the leader of the Christian reformation movement.
- He is often referred to by his initials MLK.
Credit: http://www.ducksters.com/biography/martin_luther_king_jr.php
Look at three different photo galleries of King's life. Comment and tell us what two of your favorite pictures and why? How do they demonstrate what you have learned about this Civil Right's Leader? Or does the picture allow you a different view of that you have thought so far?
Look at three different photo galleries of King's life. Comment and tell us what two of your favorite pictures and why? How do they demonstrate what you have learned about this Civil Right's Leader? Or does the picture allow you a different view of that you have thought so far?
My favorite photos form the gallery are the one of MLK and his wife kissing because it shows him in a different way then a lot of the other picture I wanted to list is the one of the dog attacking the boy because it shows you how cruel people were.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite photos from the photo gallery would be the first one. It's the one where he is sitting with his family of four. I enjoy this because it shows him as a normal husband and father. It gives me a different view on this Civial right leader. Its a place where he can be accepted for who he is (no discrimination and probably doesn't have to stand up for his rights) and a place where (although he is still a leader to his family) he can probably rest his thoughts and work. As Evan said, my second favorite would be the one of the dog attacking the boy. The fact that the officer is just standing there allowing that to happen is just wrong and uncalled for. This demonstrates the cruelty.
ReplyDeletei agree with tanah. the first photo shows him as a normal husband, instead of a serious guy.
Deletei agree with tanah. the first photo shows him as a normal husband, instead of a serious guy.
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ReplyDeleteI liked part 1 and part 3 because they were the less violent ones the middle one was just flat out MEAN!
ReplyDeleteI liked the photo of MLK performing his speech. It is cool to see how patio ate he was about this. I also liked the photo that was taken from above that showed all the people that had gathered for his speech. It was a neat thing to see how many people had were so supportive of it. That would have been a troubling time to be a part of
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorites is #5 in part one. It is the picture of soldiers standing around Central high school. They are armed and prepared to fight. It shows just how much of a threat white racism was. Another crazy one was #12 in part one. MLK is being escorted to the courthouse from the jail. I can't believe how directly this violates our Bill of Rights. He wasn't hurting people, we were just infringing on his freedom of speech.
ReplyDeleteOne picture i liked was the one where he is in the hospital bed, because i never knew that he had his own book, or that he got stabbed by an African American women, so it was pretty surprising. I defiantly view him a lot stronger than i did before. He's been through a lot of crazy and sad things. I know it's already been said but the second picture i wanted to say was the one where the police dog was attacking that man. It shows just how strong the discrimination was back then, and how cruel people could be. Its sick how the officer was actually holding the man so he couldn't pull away. It demonstrates (i think) about the general idea of what MLK was trying to change with his speeches, which is really inspiring.
ReplyDeleteThe two pictures were when MLK was released from the hospital and him playing pool. That even though he got serous with his speeches and death threats he still is smiling.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite pictures of MLK is #4 in part one when it shows him standing with The Rev. Ralph David Abernathy. I like this photo because it shows MLK's determination to have a free country for “all” human beings and it shows how well-respected he really is and not just who he is on the outside. As I said, they demonstrate his determination and confidence to make things right. I also liked #13 in part one because it shows him with his children living a life every man should get to live. It shows how he isn't always involved in the civil rights but gets to also spend time with his family. MLK was a well respected man and i'm assuming was close friends with a lot of people during that rough time.
ReplyDeleteI liked in the "Part 1" gallery the one with King and other civil rights leaders with President Eisenhower, I like this one because it shows how President Eisenhower actually met and discussed with the leaders about what they could do. The second one I like is on the "Part 2" pictures and is number 4 out of 16. It's the one in color with King addressing the people at the March of Washington with his "I have a dream speech", I like it because it shows how many people were present at the march.
ReplyDeleteThe absolute first photo with his wife kissing him was so cute it made my heart shrivel up, it showed how sweet he naturally was. The 8/16th photo in the second album that looks like he made a speech and everyone looked like they were excited. It showed how inspirational he was to the fellow activists.
ReplyDeletemy first favorite photo is the one of the boycotted bus. it shows how committed the blacks were, it shows that they weren't messing around, and that they wanted equality and they were gonna get it whether the whites like it or not. my second favorite photo was the one of the black guy getting bit by the dog. it showed that the guy was calm and that shows that he knew it was coming but he wouldn't show fear. it just proves again how dedicated the blacks were and. after seeing that photo I bet the black people feel proud to know that THEY made America that is today, which is better. they changed more than half of Americas thinking! although there are some people who are still racist, which there always will be because people are not perfect. this photo just points to God in my eyes. how could anyone but God change more than half of an entire countries' thoughts! it just goes to show God truly is THE BEST!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy two favorite pictures were numbers 8 and 9 in part one.
ReplyDelete#8 Shows him to be "human" that he wasn't invincible because he was stabbed. But he did recover. :)
#9 I liked because it showed him in a different environment you may not always get to see him in --with his family. ;)