Martin Luther King Biography

  • His Grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors

    "His grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor."
  • When Martin Luther King was born and when he changed his name

    When Martin Luther King was born and when he changed his name
    "(January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin."
  • When he became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama

    "In 1954, Martin Luther King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race, King was, by this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of its kind in the nation"
  • Accept the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott

    "He was ready, then, early in December, 1955, to accept the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott described by Gunnar Jahn in his presentation speech in honor of the laureate. The boycott 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. During these days of boycott"
  • Elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

    "In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement."
  • "l Have a Dream",

    "l Have a Dream",
    "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure."
  • Received the Nobel Peace Prize.

    Received the Nobel Peace Prize.
    "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."