Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Research via: Student Name: Annmarie Ferrell Date: January 19 th, 2010 MECPS, Mr. Jiang

Who is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? Martin Luther King Jr. was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African- American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States, and he has become a human rights icon.

Quotes from "I Have a Dream” “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." “The sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.” “From the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire, let freedom ring. From the mighty mountains of New York, let freedom ring. From the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania, let freedom ring. But not only that: Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.”

Books Dr. King wrote? Stride toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story The Measure of a Man Strength to Love Sixteen sermons and one essay entitled "Pilgrimage to Nonviolence." Why We Can't Wait Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? The Trumpet of Conscience

His Early life: Martin Luther King, Jr., was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the son of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. King's father was born "Michael King," and Martin Luther King, Jr., was originally named "Michael King, Jr.," until the family traveled to Europe in 1934 and visited Germany. His father soon changed both of their names to Martin Luther in honor of the German Protestant leader Martin Luther. He had an older sister, Willie Christine King, and a younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams King. King sang with his church choir at the 1939 Atlanta premiere of the movie Gone with the Wind. King married Coretta Scott, on June 18, 1953, on the lawn of her parents' house in her hometown of Heiberger, Alabama. King and Scott had four children; Yolanda King, Martin Luther King III, Dexter Scott King, and Bernice King. King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama when he was twenty-five years old in 1954

The Early Civil Rights Movement The African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968) refers to the reform movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring Suffrage in Southern states. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1954 and 1968, particularly in the South. By 1966, the emergence of the Black Power Movement, which lasted roughly from 1966 to 1975, enlarged the aims of the Civil Rights Movement to include racial dignity, economic and political self- sufficiency, and freedom from oppression by whites.

Dr. King’s contribution: His "I Have A Dream" speech is the finest speech in the entire history of this nation in its unabashed desire for a nation of ideals. He summed up what this nation's forefathers claimed this country would one day become. He did not live to see his dream, and it still hasn't come close to being true. His most important contribution was being humble enough to offer up his life for people without a voice or a country.