Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Education

Education played a key role in shaping the person Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered for today. While he was always learning through his church and bible studies, King received a formal education and skipped grades more than once. Martin Luther King Jr. skipped 9th grade in order to enroll early at Booker T. Washington High School, a historically all-black high school. Here he developed further his fondness for English and History. High school is also where his interest in sociology began.

At fifteen, King enrolled in Morehouse College, a prestigious historically black college that his father and grandfather also went to. Through Morehouse College, King had the opportunity to travel up north to Connecticut to work on a tobacco farm during the summers. Here he experienced what life could be like to live integrated.

While racism still existed in much subtler ways in the northern United States, King more or less was able to experience almost anything he wanted and was not barred from entry to any establishment on account of his blackness. He could patronize any business or service, and go to the same diners or clubs as white people. This freedom bolstered his faith in the possibilities that could be achieved in racial equality down south. In 1948, King graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at nineteen years old.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s oratory ability was famously memorialized in his "I Have a Dream" speech. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Martin Luther King Jr.'s experience in the north inspired him to apply to schools outside the south. He enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. He was quite involved in extracurricular activities and became the President of the student body. He earned a Bachelor in Divinity in 1951.

Martin Luther King Jr. began his doctoral studies at Boston University in 1951 the same year he graduated from Crozer. He earned his Ph.D. in systemic theology. While studying at Boston University, he met his future wife Coretta Scott. They had four children and finally settled in Montgomery, Alabama, where King was called to pastor at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s Achievements

Martin Luther King has led and organized numerous civil rights campaigns which resulted in successful legislative reforms affecting the lives of millions of black Americans and minorities. Below are some of the most famous and successful achievements of Martin Luther King Jr.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

In 1957, King along with other prominent leaders formed the South Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The goal was to consolidate the power and moral authority of the black church community. The SCLC was pivotal in organizing many of the successful civil rights campaigns that Martin Luther King Jr. is famous for.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, and secretary for the NAACP, refused to give up her seat to white passengers on a bus when ordered by the driver, leading to her arrest. While not the first incident of its kind, the NAACP felt this was a stronger case to win in court. This led to a 385-day-long boycott where black riders, comprising the majority of bus ridership, refused to ride the buses, planning their own carpools instead. The NAACP tasked Martin Luther King Jr. to lead the boycott. His arrest and jail time received unprecedented news coverage and propelled him into the national spotlight.

Civil Rights Act 1964

A landmark piece of legislation, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made discrimination illegal on virtually any grounds. Whether it was employment or place of business, no one or no thing could be denied to someone because of their race, ethnicity, sex, and/or nation of origin. Effectively ending legal segregation in the south, the passage was a success for the principal lobbyists of the NAACP among other leaders of the Civil Rights movement, including Martin Luther King Jr. himself.

Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested over 29 times in total. Source: Wikimedia.

Nobel Peace Prize

On October 14, 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He subsequently donated the award money to civil rights organizations.

Voting Rights Act 1965

Like the Civil Rights Act before it, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is another monumental achievement of the civil rights movement. Essentially it extends protections nationwide on voter discrimination and regulates elections to increase voter accessibility. Previously archaic laws made voting especially difficult for black Americans.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s Famous Work

While Martin Luther King Jr did write five books, he is most famous for his "I Have a Dream" speech at the capitol on August 28, 1963. Heavily televised, King addressed a live audience of more than a quarter-million people.

This event was called the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and is considered one of the biggest and most successful peace protests in American history.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s Legacy

Martin Luther King Jr.'s life was abruptly cut short at 39 years old. He was assassinated by a sniper bullet while standing outside on the balcony of his hotel room. An hour later after emergency surgery, he was officially pronounced dead on April 4, 1968. Gunman James Earl Ray was convicted for the killing of Martin Luther King Jr.

King was forever memorialized by his March on Washington address "I have a dream". Numerous statues and memorials across the country are dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy. Martin Luther King Day is a federal holiday observed across the United States. Posthumously, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter and his wife Coretta accepted it on his behalf. The highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to both King and his late wife Coretta, on the 50th-anniversary celebration of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Martin Luther King Jr. changed the world by highlighting the hypocrisy of America. The United States billed itself as a champion of liberty, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. Yet, white supremacy openly and unabashedly oppressed black people and minorities. King showed that civil disobedience was necessary when the law was unjust, and that nonviolent peaceful protest was an effective tool to bring about social change.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

Martin Luther King Jr. repeats the word dream, again and again, in reference to the American Dream. Essentially, the most American principle is the pursuit of happiness, and the right of an individual to pursue it. America proudly proclaims itself as the land of the free, free to choose and live one's own life. Government is a consensual agreement and is granted authority by individuals to protect their rights. King's speech highlighted the daily injustice that black Americans experience as additional barriers in their pursuit of happiness. King hoped to inspire empathy in other Americans who are indoctrinated since birth about the American dream. Ideally, he wanted for them to equate racial equality as very American, hoping to show that black Americans want the same things as white Americans, and that differences can be set aside so American citizens can live in harmony.

Martin Luther King Jr. felt that the war in Vietnam went against American ideals. The official stated objective of the war was to stop the spread of communism. The war was very controversial in King's time, and his open objection to the war earned him enemies in the US government. King felt that war was incompatible with his message of nonviolence and unconditional love towards one's enemies. He was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, who used nonviolence to protest colonial British power in India. To Martin Luther King Jr., the Vietnam War appeared as an extension of colonialism perpetuated by the US military.

Martin Luther King Jr. viewed injustice as everyone's problem. King believed the expression that a rising tide lifts all boats. Meaning, that if we allow injustice to happen, it will keep us from creating a just society where everyone can live free and happily.

1. Oates, Stephen B. Let the Trumpet Sound: the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1983)