“I have a dream…”, the opening line of one of the most iconic speeches of our
time by the late, great Martin Luther King (often simply referred to as MLK).
Born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15th 1929, King was a religious minister who rose to
fame as a national leader in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s.
King, who was actually named ‘Michael’ upon birth, was five years old when his father
(also Michael) became inspired by the works of late German Protestant Reformation Leader,
Martin Luther and decided to change both he and his son’s names.
King’s father was also a minister and a strict father who fought for civil rights.
Having long witnessed his father’s fight against segregation and racial abuse, it was
inevitable that King would follow in his father’s footsteps.
He was a gifted student who skipped grades 9 and 12 and entered college early at the
age of 15, graduating with a degree in Sociology four years later.
He then went on to receive a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1951 and finally, his doctorate
in Theology from Boston University in 1955.
Amidst all his studies, King married and became a father to four children.
At the age of 25, King became a pastor at a Baptist church in Alabama and quickly gained
fame for his booming voice and powerful congregational speeches.
His role in defending Rosa Parks in the ‘Montgomery Bus Boycott’ of 1955, shot King to national
fame.
Ms Parks was arrested for sitting in a ‘whites only’ seat of a city bus; these kinds of
segregation laws were exactly what King wanted to abolish, he urged communities to come together
to stop this kind of repression.
The boycott lasted just over a year and resulted in a change of law that prohibited segregation
on buses.
This was just the beginning of King’s leadership.
The civil rights movement gained many victories as a result of his hard work and, often personal,
sacrifices.
As a big believer in Ghandi’s ideals, King always maintained a non-violent approach to
resolving disputes.
Despite this, there was constant opposition who believed that black people did not deserve
any extra rights and King was arrested and jailed repeatedly (close to 30 times during
his lifetime apparently), his family was threatened daily, and his house was even bombed at one
point.
However, King was resilient and he fought on, determined to create a better, safer,
more peaceful life for his family, his friends, and his followers.
He founded the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) which was instrumental in civil
rights reforms.
He led the ‘Great March on Washington’ in 1963 which advocated for the civil and
economic rights of African Americans and called for an end to racism with that most famous
17-minute speech, joined by around 250,000 supporters.
He played a huge part in the passing of new voting laws for black people in the US in
1964 and 1965.
And in October 1964, he became the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for
leading non-violent resistance to racial prejudice in the US.
Sadly, King was assassinated on April 4th, 1968, aged just 39 - shot whilst on a motel
balcony in Memphis, Tennessee.
But his legacy went on to succeed him as just days after his death, US Congress passed the
Civil Rights Act of 1968 prohibiting all manner of racial discrimination in housing and housing-related
transactions.
This was believed to be a tribute to the great leader.
‘Martin Luther King Jr Day’ was established as an annual national holiday in the US from
1971 and he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977…King’s dreams
and beliefs live on.