He was the son of a preacher and an educator. As a child, he attended segregated schools in Georgia, and as an adult, he fought for the desegregation of America. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the icon of the civil rights movement in America, and his message of non-violent resistance and social change carried around the world.
King was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. His father, Martin Luther King, Sr., was the lead pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. King’s mother, Alberta Williams King, was an educator, musician, and social activist. She started the church choir and served as the church organist at Ebenezer church. King’s love of music and talent on the piano were nurtured by his mother. King had two siblings, an older sister, and a younger brother, he was a middle child. Growing up in the Black middle class, King had opportunities in education and social experiences that children in poorer parts of Atlanta didn't get. But King still experienced the realities of segregation in the South, because he was Black. As a child, King was a paper boy and dreamed about being a firefighter.
King was a good student. He finished grade school early and enrolled at Morehouse College in 1944, at the age of 15. He studied sociology and graduated in 1948. During his time at Morehouse College King started to formulate his future self. He was influenced by several professors at the college and began to understand the intellectual tradition of ministry.
In 1948, King enrolled in seminary school and studied theology, philosophy, ethics, and religion and was elected student body president. After that, he went to doctoral school at Boston University and earned a degree in theology. King married his wife, Coretta Scott, in 1953. In 1954 King moved to Montgomery, Alabama to lead the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. He was adjusting to his new role as preacher and father, Martin and Coretta had their first child, Yolanda Denise King, in November of 1955, when an event that would change his life forever happened.
On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks refused to leave her seat on a segregated city bus, resulting in her being arrested. Several groups came together to take action. One of those groups was the Baptist Minister Conference, which King was a part of. The community organized a boycott of the buses, and after some success, a group formed called the Montgomery Improvement Association of which King was elected the first president. King and the Black community continued the boycott for 382 days while city officials resisted their demands until December 21, 1956, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal court decision that ruled against segregation in Montgomery.
King would go on to become the leader of the civil rights movement in America. He would travel the world spreading his message and championing desegregation. He would deliver what has become one of the greatest speeches in history, the "I Have a Dream" speech on August 28, 1963. He would be named TIME magazine's "Man of the Year" in 1964. He would die untimely on April 4, 1968, when he was assassinated in Memphis.
King led a unique life and is, to this day, still an American icon. His story is rich with so many details that could fill this entire blog, but we will leave it up to you to learn more. Check out Gale in Context for a more detailed story about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Recommended Reads
Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Ready-to-Read Level 1 by Margaret McNamara
Mrs. Connor's students honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day with their own dreams and hopes in this Level 1 Ready-to-Read!
The class imagines how to make the world a better place in this celebration of an important holiday.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Rookie Read-About Holidays by Lisa M. Herrington
Martin Luther King Jr. and the March on Washington by Stephanie Watson
This title will inform readers about Martin Luther King Jr. and the March on Washington, the organizers, the march's purpose, and King's famous speech, "I Have a Dream." Vivid details, well-chosen photographs, and primary sources bring this story and this case to life. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Core Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Peaceful Protest by Kelly Spence
Presents the life and accomplishments of the civil rights leader, from his childhood in Atlanta and his participation in early boycotts and other civil rights protests to his landmark "I Have A Dream" speech and his lasting legacy.
Martin Luther King Jr.: Civil Rights Leader by C. L. Laney
As a minister and an activist, Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated his life to helping others. He fought for equality during a time when Black people in America experienced great injustice. His life and legacy continue to inspire others to push for change. Blue Delta Books™, a Hi-Lo Books™ biography series, tell the stories of people who have changed our world in profound ways. This series features a diverse group of people. Some are more well-known than others, but all deserve to be highlighted for the positive impact they have had. Each Blue Delta Book features full-color images on every page and tells the person’s story from childhood throughout their life. These books are sure to inspire young teen readers. Each book is 48 pages long.
King: A Comic Biography of Martin Luther King Jr. by Ho Che Anderson
This groundbreaking body of comics journalism collects for first time Anderson's entire biography of the renowned civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Over a decade in the making, the saga has been praised for its vivid recreation of one of the most tumultuous periods in U.S. history and for its accuracy in depicting the personal and public lives of King, from his birth to his assassination. King probes the life story of one of America's greatest public figures with an unflinchingly critical eye, casting King as an ambitious, dichotomous figure deserving of his place in history but not above moral sacrifice to get there. Anderson's expressionistic visual style is wrought with dramatic energy; panels evoke a painterly attention to detail but juxtapose with one another in such a way as to propel King's story with cinematic momentum.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" by Tamra B. Orr
Washington, D.C., 1963: Two brothers travel all day to hear Martin Luther King Jr. speak. Aligned with curriculum standards, these narrative-nonfiction books also highlight key 21st Century Global Awareness, Media Literacy, and Civic Literacy. Thought-provoking content and hands-on activities encourage critical thinking. Book includes a table of contents, glossary of key words, index, author biography, sidebars, and timeline.
The first collection of King’s essential writings for high school students and young people.
A Time to Break Silence presents Martin Luther King, Jr.'s most important writings and speeches—carefully selected by teachers across a variety of disciplines—in an accessible and user-friendly volume. Now, for the first time, teachers and students will be able to access Dr. King's writings not only electronically but in stand-alone book form.
Arranged thematically in five parts, the collection includes nineteen selections and is introduced by award-winning author Walter Dean Myers. Included are some of Dr. King’s most well-known and frequently taught classic works, including “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream,” as well as lesser-known pieces such as “The Sword that Heals” and “What Is Your Life’s Blueprint?” that speak to issues young people face today.
The first full biography in decades, King mixes revelatory and exhaustive new research with brisk and accessible storytelling to forge the definitive life for our times.
Vividly written and exhaustively researched, Jonathan Eig’s A Life is the first major biography in decades of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.―and the first to include recently declassified FBI files. In this revelatory new portrait of the preacher and activist who shook the world, the bestselling biographer gives us an intimate view of the courageous and often emotionally troubled human being who demanded peaceful protest for his movement but was rarely at peace with himself. He casts fresh light on the King family’s origins as well as MLK’s complex relationships with his wife, father, and fellow activists. King reveals a minister wrestling with his own human frailties and dark moods, a citizen hunted by his own government, and a man determined to fight for justice even if it proved to be a fight to the death. As he follows MLK from the classroom to the pulpit to the streets of Birmingham, Selma, and Memphis, Eig dramatically re-creates the journey of a man who recast American race relations and became our only modern-day founding father―as well as the nation’s most mourned martyr.
In this landmark biography, Eig gives us an MLK for our a deep thinker, a brilliant strategist, and a committed radical who led one of history’s greatest movements, and whose demands for racial and economic justice remain as urgent today as they were in his lifetime.
"I am in Birmingham because injustice is here," declared Martin Luther King, Jr. He had come to that city of racist terror convinced that massive protest could topple Jim Crow. But the insurgency faltered. To revive it, King made a sacrificial act on Good Friday, April 12, 1963: he was arrested. Alone in his cell, reading a newspaper, he found a statement from eight "moderate" clergymen who branded the protests extremist and "untimely."
King drafted a furious rebuttal that emerged as the "Letter from Birmingham Jail"-a work that would take its place among the masterpieces of American moral argument alongside those of Thoreau and Lincoln. His insistence on the urgency of "Freedom Now" would inspire not just the marchers of Birmingham and Selma, but peaceful insurgents from Tiananmen to Tahrir Squares.
Scholar Jonathan Rieder delves deeper than anyone before into the Letter-illuminating both its timeless message and its crucial position in the history of civil rights. Rieder has interviewed King's surviving colleagues, and located rare audiotapes of King speaking in the mass meetings of 1963. Gospel of Freedom gives us a startling perspective on the Letter and the man who wrote it: an angry prophet who chastised American whites, found solace in the faith and resilience of the slaves, and knew that moral appeal without struggle never brings justice.
A powerful collection of the most essential speeches from famed social activist and key civil rights figure Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This companion volume to A Knock At Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. includes the text of his most well-known oration, "I Have a Dream", his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, and Beyond Vietnam, a powerful plea to end the ongoing conflict. Includes contributions from Rosa Parks, Aretha Franklin, the Dalai Lama, and many others.
Why We Can't Wait by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King’s classic exploration of the events and forces behind the Civil Rights Movement—including his Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963.
“There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.”
In 1963, Birmingham, Alabama, was perhaps the most racially segregated city in the United States. The campaign launched by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights movement on the segregated streets of Birmingham demonstrated to the world the power of nonviolent direct action.
In this remarkable book—winner of the Nobel Peace Prize—Dr. King recounts the story of Birmingham in vivid detail, tracing the history of the struggle for civil rights back to its beginnings three centuries ago and looking to the future, assessing the work to be done beyond Birmingham to bring about full equality for African Americans. Above all, Dr. King offers an eloquent and penetrating analysis of the events and pressures that propelled the Civil Rights movement from lunch counter sit-ins and prayer marches to the forefront of American consciousness.
Since its publication in the 1960s, Why We Can’t Wait has become an indisputable classic. Now, more than ever, it is an enduring testament to the wise and courageous vision of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Includes photographs and an Afterword by Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.