Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15th, 1929 to a baptist minister. King would go on to receive a doctorate degree in theology and in 1955 organized the first major protest of the African American civil rights movement, the wildly successful Montgomery Bus Boycott. Influenced by Mohandas Gandhi, he advocated for non-violent resistance to combat segregation in the south. The peaceful protests he led were often met with violence but his followers persisted and the movement gained momentum.
King was a powerful speaker and his movements continued to gain momentum, even from the federal government and white people in the northern states. In 1963, the famous Washinton March happened and it attracted over 250,000 people. At the end of the march was King's famous "I have a dream" speech.
King was assassinated in the Lorraine Motel on April 4th, 1968, ending his illustrious career as a civil rights activist.
Fun Facts:
- Martin Luther King Jr. was the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
- There are over 730 streets in the United States named after MLK JR.
- One of King's main influences was Mohandas Gandhi, a famous non-violence activist. I talk about him in this post.
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