Martin Luther King, Jr.: Leader and Significant Christian

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Martin Luther King, Jr.:
Leader and Significant Christian

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born January 15th, 1929, to Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. Martin Luther King, Sr. was a prominent member of the black community in Atlanta. He was a Baptist Minister and he served as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church. Martin Luther King, Sr. stressed the importance of education to King, Jr. King, Jr. attended local, segregated public school and he stood out in his class with his dedication to learn. With this dedication, King went on to succeed at Morehouse College at the age of 15. He graduated from Morehouse in 1948 and continued his pursuit of knowledge at Croezer Theological Seminary. King graduated with honors only to further his education by getting a doctoral degree in systematic theology in 1955.

During King’s education, he learned the importance of public speaking. King was ordained a Baptist minister at the age of 18 and it was a necessity for King to be able to express himself eloquently and to be able to persuade his audience. It was this ability to move large audiences that caught the eye of Edgar D. Nixon, a local leader of the NAACP. Rosa Parks had just been arrested for her refusal to give up her seat on a bus to white person. Nixon decided to seize this opportunity and stage a boycott of public transportation. King was named the president of the Montgomery Improvement Association and was instrumental in organizing the Montgomery bus boycott. The boycott drew national attention and King was a central figure. The M.I.A. filed a suit that was brought before Federal Court in order to rectify segregation. The Federal Court ruled in the favor of the M.I.A. Segregation of buses was no longer legal and in this process King united many southern blacks.

King had earned enough national recognition that he could go on to stage many more events to protest racial discrimination. King helped to found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and it was within this organization that King made a major impact on modern America. King organized many more marches and peaceful demonstrations in order to end the injustice of racism. He endured many violent attacks by police officers and members of the Ku Klux Klan. He always remained faithful to the teachings of Mohandas Gandhi and practiced them through peaceful protests. King made great strides towards equality in this practice and died in doing so.

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