Children's Web Magazine

Martin Luther King Jr

 

Martin Luther King Jr was an American Baptist minister, political activist and civil rights leader. He is one of the great leaders of the twentieth century.
Born on the 15th January 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, he was the eldest son of the Reverend Martin Luther King Sr and Alberta Williams King. They had met through their local Baptist church were both father and son would later preach. Martin Luther King Jr was extremely bright and well educated. He gained a BA (Bachelor of Arts) degree in sociology, BD (Bachelor of Divinity) from Crozer Theological Seminary and a PhD (Dr of Philosophy) in systematic Theology. He was ordained into the Christian ministry in 1948. All this would stand him in good stead for his work later on.
In 1953 he was made pastor at a Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama. It was also the year he married Coretta Scott they would later have four children. It was while he was in Montgomery that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on the bus in 1955. Martin Luther King started the Montgomery bus boycott. This would last 382 days. During that time King and his family had to endure their house being bombed, threats, abuse and even King being arrested. He did however get the Supreme Court to rule that segregation on transport was illegal. This is what the boycott had been all about. He had achieved it in a non - violent way.
Despite what may have been inflicted on him he was against violence. He had been inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. King very much wanted to bring people together. He was very good at this he was able to assess a situation and bring a calmness to it. If meetings gave way to heated arguments he would listen patiently and wait for the right moment to intervene. Then quietly suggest an idea to make progress. He was also a great orator and was charismatic. Two important qualities you need in leadership.
But as with a lot of young and talented people, who are destined for greatness, admired, praised and have a God like status thrust upon them. It can cause them to become arrogant and king may have developed a slight arrogance. A great leader can also be the target for accusations. King was no exception. The FBI had his phone tapped in an effort to damage his reputation. They were concerned that the civil rights movement was being used by the communists. They also suspected King of being a communist. And there were allegations about king's private life too.
King may have had his faults like anyone but he was a man who inspired and achieved a great amount, with his non - violent protests for civil rights. His strive against poverty and peace is an inspiration. As were his speeches. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was where he did his most famous "I have a dream" speech in 1963. The march was for civil rights, employment, reasonable housing the right to vote and good education which included racially mixed schools. In 1965 more march's were planned one on the 7th March became known as Bloody Sunday as police used tear gas and other means of violence towards those protesting.
Martin Luther King was then assassinated on the 4th April 1968, while he was on the balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee. Martin Luther King had been a great leader and a respected one. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He even has a holiday in America named after him.
© Children's Web Magazine 2007