Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Leader of the Civil Rights Movement

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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the greatest civil rights leaders to ever live. Through his empowering speeches, he made a huge impact on the world for the equality of all races. Throughout King’s life, he showed everyone how he believed equality should be acquired. With his peaceful protests and amazing speeches, he influenced people both during his time and after he passed. Many believe that King’s work in the Civil Rights Movement was the final push that America needed to finally respect people no matter their skin color. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American baptist minister, Civil Rights activist, and humanitarian. He was born on January 25, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia under the name of Michael King, Jr. Both he and his father later adopted the name of the German protestant leader Martin Luther in honor of him. King thrived at Booker T. Washington High School, graduating at the age of 15 before moving on to Morehouse College. For years, he had questioned religion, but in his third year of college, he took a bible class that renewed his faith. King later went on to study at Crozer theological seminary for three years. He met his future wife during his last year of seminary, and went on to receive his Ph.D in 1955 at the age of 25. In late 1955, Dr. King was elected to lead his first public peaceful protest. For the rest of the year and throughout all of 1956, African Americans decided to boycott the Montgomery bus system in response to the arrest of Rosa Parks. After 382 days of protest, the city of Montgomery was forced to lift the law mandating segregated public transportation because of the large financial losses they suffered from the protest. King began to receive notice on a national level in 1960. On October ... ... middle of paper ... ...een achieved. The first African American president was elected in 2008. A black man could never dream of being in such a high office during the 1960s. It is illegal to segregate in America. Every man is granted the same rights. Works Cited Aziwike, Abayomi. "The Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King: Continuing the Legacy of the Great Walk to Freedom of 1963." Global Research. N.p., 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Brunner, Borgna. "Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement." Infoplease. Infoplease, 2007. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. Garrow, David J. "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." History Net: Where History Comes Alive. N.p., Aug. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Kennedy, Robert F. "RFK on MLK." Martin Luther King Jr. [ushistory.org]. N.p., 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. "Martin Luther King, Jr.: Fighting for Equal Rights in America." Tavaana. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

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