Martin Luther King Day, 21st January

A great man whose messages of nonviolence, hope and service is being honoured today.

On the 3rd Monday of every January in the United States, Martin Luther King is remembered with the day declared as a federal holiday.

Martin Luther King was born on the 15th of January 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. Faith always played a part of his life as both his father and grandfather were Baptist ministers.

Martin Luther attended segregated schools in Georgia graduating at the age of fifteen; he received the BA degree in 1948 from Morehouse College (a distinguished college) where both his dad and granddad graduated from as well. He went on to earn his doctorate from Boston University.

It was in while in Boston, he met and married Coretta Scott and they had 4 children who they both adored.

Martin Luther King became more popular, leading peaceful and non violent demonstrations for civil rights.

One of such movements was the Montgomery bus boycott after Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat on a bus to a white person. This boycott lasted for at least 382 days. During the days of the boycott, Martin Luther was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse. In spite of all of this, he emerged as a very strong, trusted and prominent leader. The boycott resulted with the supreme court of the United States finally declaring unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses. Blacks and whites were to ride buses as equals.

King is most famous for his ‘I have a dream’ speech in 1963. ‘I have a dream’ came to be regarded as one of the finest speeches in the history of American oratory.

At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated.

Picture moments with Martin Luther King

[nggallery id=4]

• About the Author
• Latest Posts

About admin

• Back2School Webinar – Set Yourself up to Win - September 20, 2018
• What is the greatest thing you can do for your child? - May 24, 2018
• Believe - May 24, 2018
• Motivate 2 Revise Series - March 14, 2018
• Parenting Teens Hub - January 23, 2018
• PERFECT Parents? - January 18, 2018
• Life Skill Courses - November 27, 2017
• Daily Affirmations – Paperback Copy - November 13, 2017
• Bridging the Gap Video Series - November 3, 2017
• Influence - October 16, 2017