Create by Amanda Hayes EDOL 562 A Courageous Leader Create by Amanda Hayes EDOL 562

Born a Leader King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia. He was the son of Michael King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. He had an older sister named Willie Christine and a younger brother named Alfred Daniel Williams King. Martin Luther King’s given name was Michael, which he later changed. Martin’s father fought against racial prejudice, not just because his race suffered, but because he considered racism and segregation to be an affront to God's will. He strongly discouraged any sense of class superiority in his children which left a lasting impression on Martin Jr.

School Days Martin Luther King Jr. began public school at the age of 5. He was a very intelligent young man. He skipped ninth and eleventh grade and graduated from Book T. Washington High School at the age of 15.

Preparing for the Future He continued his education at Morehouse College and received his BA in 1948. He then decided to attend the liberal Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. He was valedictorian of his class in 1951.

Starting a Family On June 18, 1953, he married Coretta Scott. They had two daughters and two sons.

Beginning the Journey! In 1954, King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He was worked hard for civil rights for members of his race. He was a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which was the leading organization of its kind in the nation. King led many protests against unfair treatment of African Americans, but he did not believe in violence.

Montgomery Bus Boycott In early December of1955, he accepted the leadership of the bus boycott. It lasted 382 days. On December 21, 1956, after the Supreme Court of the United States had declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses, Negroes and whites rode the buses as equals. This was hard, long battle for King as well as his family. Within the 382 days, King was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse.

Making a Difference During the following eleven-years between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action.

He led a protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world. He called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail". He planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested at least twenty times and assaulted at least four times

I Have A Dream

On Our Way to the Promised Land The day before King was assassinated he gave a speech in a Memphis, Tennessee church, and referred to freedom as the promise land. He said, "I may not get there with you. But I want you to know....we, as people will get to the Promised Land." On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed by a man named James Earl Ray.

Sources Berson, M., Howard, T. & Salinas, C. (2008) Harcourt Social Studies A Child’s View. Harcourt School Publishers. Holland, Leslie. (2009) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have A Dream Speech in Translation What It Really Means. Mankato, Minnesota, Capstone Press. Hyatt, Michael. (January 18, 2010). Eight Leadership Lessons from Martin Luther King, Jr. Intentional Leadership. http://michaelhyatt.com/eight-leadership-lessons-from-martin- luther-king-jr.htm Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography". Nobelprize.org.5 Dec 2012 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king- bio.html Martin Luther King Jr. (2012). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 04:03, Dec 05, 2012, from http://www.biography.com/people/martin- luther-king-jr-9365086.