Life and Work of Martin Luther King Jr.

2050 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on segregation in education

Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist from the 1950’s to 1968 with a strong religious background. A strong advocator for all minorities, King did all in his power to end barriers of community; poverty, racism and militarism. The principle he focused more on, however, was racism. King defined racism as prejudice, apartheid, ethnic conflict, anti-Semitism, sexism, colonialism, homophobia, ageism, or discrimination against disabled groups and stereotypes. Later turning his efforts to poverty, King believed that the United States should have equal rights for all men, women and children. Martin Luther King Jr. had a strong philosophy of non-violent protests, called civil disobedience, to which he gained supporters, changing the jurisdictions of racism and poverty to create the American Dream for all. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, to Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. Born as Michael King Jr., King lived in Atlanta, Georgia. However, in honor of minister and civil-rights activist Martin Luther Baptist, his parents gave him the name Martin. In 1931, King’s father became the lead pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, a very successful minister as his father and grandfather had been. A very intelligent man, King skipped ninth and eleventh grades, graduating Book T. Washington High School at the age of fifteen. Dealing with segregation at a young age, King believed in the goodness of man and the great potential of American democracy. After graduating high school, King went on to study theology at Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution in Atlanta, where his father had attended. There, he received his Bachelor of Arts and was ordained during his final semester. Howev... ... middle of paper ... ...ts/champions/martin-luther-king-jr.html Martin Luther King's Impact on the Civil Right's Movement. (n.d.). mablevale.org. Retrieved February 22, 2014, from http://www.mabelvale.org/blackhistory/Martin%20Luther%20King/Martin%20Luther.htm Miller, Calvin Craig. No easy answers: Bayard Rustin and the civil rights movement. Greensboro, N.C.: Morgan Reynolds Pub., 2005. Print. Partridge, Elizabeth. Marching for freedom: walk together, children, and don't you grow weary. New York, N.Y.: Viking, 2009. Print. The Seattle Times: Martin Luther King Jr.. (n.d.). The Seattle Times: Martin Luther King Jr.. Retrieved February 28, 2014, from http://seattletimes.com/special/mlk/ Selma to Montgomery March (1965). (n.d.). Selma to Montgomery March (1965). Retrieved February 28, 2014, from http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_selma_to_montgomery_march/

Show More
Related

  • Martin Luther King Jr Thesis Statement

    470 Words  | 1 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15,1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the middle child of three born to Alberta Williams King and Martin Luther King Sr. Martin’s parents were kind and loving and did their best to try to shield their children

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis of Heeding the Call by Diana Childress

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is no secret that Martin Luther King Jr. did great things. We have learned in school that he was a leader in the movement to desegregate the South. He has served as a role model for people across the globe. But even though Martin did change the world for the better, it was not without hardships. We gathered new information on Dr. King in the essay, “Heeding the Call” by Diana Childress. From his childhood to his last days, Martin faced massive opposition. Still, all of these challenges brought Martin the wisdom and idealism he used throughout his life.

    Read More

  • Mlk Jr. Apostle Of Militant Nonviolence

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many students generally only learn of Dr. King’s success, and rarely ever of his failures, but Colaiaco shows of the failures of Dr. King once he started moving farther North. In the book, Colaiaco presents the successes that Dr. King has achieved throughout his work for Civil Rights. The beginning of Dr. King’s nonviolent civil rights movement started in Montgomery, Alabama, when Rosa Parks refused to move for a white person, violating the city’s transportation rules. After Parks was convicted, Dr. King, who was 26 at the time, was elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). “For 381 days, thousands of blacks walked to work, some as many as 12 miles a day, rather than continue to submit to segregated public transportation” (18).

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Martin Luther King Jr

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr was born on the 15th of January, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, known as Michael Luther King Jr and was than assassinated on the 4th of April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The world renowned Baptist minister and social activist had a massive impact on the American civil rights movement from the mid 1950’s until his assassination in 1968. Martin Luther King Jr’s up bringing was fairly pleasant and he was brought up with a great education. However, he had his couple of prejudices and traumatic experience through out his life. One of these including one of his friends who was a fair skinned boy who was told to tell King that he was no longer allowed to play with him because the children were now attending

    Read More

  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From a Birmingham Jail

    1090 Words  | 3 Pages

    Zepp, Ira G., Jr. The Social Vision of Martin Luther King Jr. New York: Carlson Publishing Inc., 1989. 123-47

    Read More

  • Who Killed Martin Luther King

    2636 Words  | 6 Pages

    Harrison, Eric. “The Killing of Dr. King Revisited.” NewsBank NewsFile Collection 4 (1994): A-15 McKinley, James. Assassination in America. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1975.

    Read More

  • Music Played Key Role in US Civil Rights Movement

    3700 Words  | 8 Pages

    Kirk, J. (2007). Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement: controversies and debates. Basingstoke New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Read More

  • Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King and the civil Rights Movement

    1369 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Martin Luther King, Jr...” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2013. .

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King Jr.

    578 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Civil Rights Movement is one of the most important events of the history of the United States. Although many people contributed to this movement, Martin Luther King, Jr., is widely regarded as the leader of the movement for racial equality. Growing up in the Deep South, King saw the injustices of segregation first hand. King’s studies of Mahatma Ghandi teachings influenced his views on effective ways of protesting and achieving equality. Martin Luther King’s view on nonviolence and equality and his enormous effect on the citizens of America makes him the most influential person of the twentieth century.

    Read More

  • Civil Rights Movement: The Selma March

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    Garrow, David. Protest at Selma: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Voting rights act of 1965. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1978. 135-147. Print.√

    Read More

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

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • John Lewis: An American Civil Rights Activist

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ross, S. (n.d.). Civil Rights March on Washington. Infoplease. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/marchonw

    Read More

  • Compare and Contrast the Work of Martin Luther King Jr & Malcolm X

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr. came from a middle class home with two loving and supportive parents. He was born in Georgia, January 15, 1929. Dr. King Jr. was one of three children. The impact he had on black and white audiences changed the way they viewed segregation and unity. He was such a revolutionary orator that he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Martin Luther King Jr. was the living definition of a prototypical nonconformist, which is a person who does not change their initial thoughts or actions based off of what others do. The reason prototypical nonconformist defines him so well is because his speeches were written to inspire all races, especially young African Americans to use non-violence to resolve any issues and to never lose sight of their dreams. His most famous “I Have a Dream” speech spoke about uplifting one another to help achieve each other’s goals with the absence of hatred and violence. He also brought forth the knowledge that God does not see any race more superior than an...

    Read More

  • The Selma-Montgomery March

    2478 Words  | 5 Pages

    Reed, Roy. “Rights Marchers Push Into Region Called Hostile.” New York Times. 23 Mar. 1965: 1+

    Read More

  • The Influence of Martin Luther King Jr.

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin with, Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929.2 His father, Martin Luther King Sr. who was a pastor, and his mother Alberta, who was a schoolteacher who raised both King and his two siblings.3 King was very religious because the three generations of men, starting with his great-grandfather, were all preachers. His younger brother and uncle were also preachers. Religion had a big influence on his life. King grew up in a neighborhood of average citizens. No great wealth or possessions, leaders, or anyone of great stature. His best friends were religious, attended Sunday school together and church which King was considered their second home.

    Read More

More about Life and Work of Martin Luther King Jr.

Open Document