Martin Luther King, Jr.: A continuing legacy

Martin Luther King, Jr.
played a pivotal role in race
relations in the United
States for nearly a decade.
He helped secure the end
of legal segregation of
African-American citizens,
created the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 and served as a
source of inspiration for
black individuals across the
globe.
Dr. King did not begin
his life as a crusader or
public figure. He had much
more modest beginnings in
rural Atlanta. Born
Michael King, Jr., he was
the middle child of Michael
King, Sr. and Alberta
Williams King. Michael
King, Sr. served as pastor of
Ebenezer Baptist Church
upon the death of his
father-in-law, who was the
church’s prior pastor. At
this point, the elder king
decided to change his
name to Martin Luther to
honor the famed Protestant
religious leader. His son
soon decided to adopt the
name as well.
A religious family, the
Kings tried to shield their
children from the realities
of racism that were alive
and well in the country.
They believed racism and
segregation to be an affront
to God’s will, and Martin,
Sr. discouraged separation
of class and taught these
lessons to his children.
Those lessons resonated
with Martin, Jr.
Dr. King attended
Booker T. Washington
High School and was so
advanced he was able to
skip both the 9th and 11th
grades. He went on to college
at the age of 15, graduating
from Morehouse
College in 1948 with a
degree in sociology. In his
junior year of college, King
enrolled in a Bible class
that sparked a renewed
enthusiasm for the ministry.
He later enrolled in the
liberal Crozer Theological
Seminary in Chester,
Pennsylvania, where he
received a Bachelor’s of
Divinity. Later he attended
Boston University and
earned a Ph.D. at the age of
25. It was during his time
in Boston that he met his
future wife, Coretta Scott.
While he was completing
his dissertation work, Dr.
King became the pastor for
the Dexter Avenue Baptist
Church of Montgomery,
Alabama.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
became directly involved in
the civil rights movement
after the head of the local
NAACP chapter in
Montgomery met with him
on the night that Rosa
Parks was arrested for failure
to give up her bus seat
to a white passenger. Dr.
King helped institute the
Montgomery Bus Boycott.
During this time, African-
Americans refused to ride
the public bus system in
Montgomery. The boycott
lasted 382 days. During
that time, Dr. King’s home
was bombed due to his
involvement in the boycott,
and he was arrested for
conspiracy. His work paid
off on December 21, 1956,
when the Supreme Court
ruled that racial segregation
on public transportation
was illegal.
Dr. King promoted nonviolent
protests against
unfairness to the African-
American community, urging
civil disobedience and
peaceful protests, tenets
that formed the basis for
the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference, or
SCLC, which he led. He
participated in numerous
nonviolent protests and
was arrested several times.
During one stint in jail, he
penned his famous, “Letter
from a Birmingham Jail.”
Dr. King established a
relationship with fellow
African-American civil
rights activist Bayard
Rustin, who shared similar
interests, including the
teachings of Gandhi.
Rustin would serve as
King’s mentor and also was
the main organizer of the
March on Washington that
took place on August 28,
1963. Approximately
250,000 demonstrators
were involved in the
march, and it was the largest
demonstration in the
nation’s capital up to that
time. In front of the
Lincoln Memorial, Dr.
King issued his famed “I
Have a Dream” speech. He
later met with President
John F. Kennedy to appeal
for greater rights for
African-Americans and
called for an end of segregation.
As a result of his civil
rights efforts, Dr. King was
awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize on December 10,
1964, at the age of 35. He
was the youngest person
ever to receive the honor.
He donated all of the prize
money to his racial equality
effort.
Through the late 1960s,
Dr. King expanded his
Civil Rights Movement to
other cities. But he was
often met with criticism,
especially when he
appealed to white middleclass
citizens. Many militant
black organizations
considered King’s methods
too weak and ineffective.
His support was faltering
and Dr. King grew weary of
marches, jail and protests.
However, in April of 1968,
a labor strike in Memphis
drew King’s attention, and
he gave a speech about the
sanitation labor dispute,
which would prove to be
prophetic. The next day, on
April 4, Dr. King was hit by
a sniper’s bullet while
standing on an outside terrace
of his motel room at
the Lorraine Motel. King’s
words from the previous
day, including, “I’ve seen
the promised land. I may
not get there with you. But
I want you to know tonight
that we, as a people, will get
to the Promised Land,“
were haunting. James Earl
Ray was charged with the
assassination.
In his honor, Americans
have celebrated Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day as a
federal holiday since 1986.
King was posthumously
awarded the Presidential
Medal of Freedom in 1977.
Many streets have been
renamed in his honor, and
Dr. King remains a source
of inspiration decades after
his death.