MLK, a Man to Remember

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is on January 18 every year, the date of MLK’s birthday.  This day is dedicated to celebrate the MLK’s life’s work of spreading peace and the success of the numerous peaceful protests he led throughout his life to promote racial equality.  Martin Luther King Jr. Day is considered to be a national holiday, even if some schools (Madison High School, for example) don’t have the day off.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a baptist minister who was a leader in the civil rights movement from the mid 1950’s until his assassination in 1968.  MLK was the driving force behind major events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the March on Washington, which helped bring about landmark decisions such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. MLK was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and has been honored by making his birthday a holiday every year since 1986.  

King was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929 and attended the city’s segregated schools until the age of 15 when the gifted king was admitted to Morehouse College, the alma mater of both his father and his maternal grandfather.  At Morehouse College, he studied medicine and law, not intending to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the ministry.  But, King had a change of mind after spending his college years under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, an outspoken advocate for racial equality.  King went on to live a life dedicated to furthering the idea of racial equality, especially for African Americans.  

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr