Introduction
Martin stands up in front of a crowd of more than 300,000 people. He fastly adjusts his tie and hesitantly wipes his clammy hands across his drenched forehead. Slightly shaking, he runs his eyes on each line of his cards and flips it, over and over again. Finally, he gathers the courage to bring his eyes to his crowd, places his hands on each side of the wooden podium, and is about to state his introduction when suddenly a woman in the crowd yells an idea to him and he glances at his cards and back at the woman, slowly, he lets them drop from his rough hands. He knows he doesn’t need them, so he then stands upright, wipes his hands over his silk suit, takes a step towards the crowd and speaks about his dream. This was happening almost every day in the Civil Rights Movement for the famous man Martin Luther King Jr., but as we go into his life, we figure out the mind of this unforgettable man.
Martin’s Early Life
On January 15, 1929, the outstanding man Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta Georgia. He was the middle child and typically spent the majority of his time with his siblings. While growing up, he was taught how to play the piano with his siblings and was a part of an extremely religious family. He had quite a boring early life, but little did his family know, he would become the talk of the United States. In his early years, segregation was highly settled and additionally, he recalled witnessing several members of the Ku Klux Klan torturing African Americans time and time again. He also remembered when he was young, he had a white friend that he played for a while until one day, he went over to his house and his parents voiced the problem with their son playing with a “ colored “ boy. Martin then walked back over to his house and stated what he had heard, when his dad, Martin Luther King Sr. explained to him the segregation happening and how he disliked the system and that Martin shouldn’t listen to them. But, as he got older, he became more hesitant towards his dad’s decisions and started to develop his own. Later on, he started to work on a farm more and more over the years, he than was accepted Morehouse College, but decided to go to Connecticut and work on a tobacco farm during the summer. When he got back, he packed his things and headed straight to college. While he was in college, he started reading about a man named Gandhi and how the wise man got his point across with peaceful protests and non-violent actions. His early life started to make him into the man he was in the future, but it was his interests, actions, and family that molded him into the famous man he became.
His Family
He had a few main family members that he relied on during his whole life. Firstly, his parents are Alberta Williams and Martin Luther King Sr. His parents were married in 1926 on Thanksgiving day. Later, on September 11, 1927, his only sister who’s still alive to this day, Christina King Farris was born in Atlanta Georgia. Then, on July 30, 1930, his older brother, Alfred Daniel Williams, referred to as “ A.D”, was born, also in Atlanta Georgia. During Martin’s college experience, he met his future wife, Coretta Scott. His dad, on the other hand, didn’t support their relationship, and he wanted him to marry an Atlanta girl, but they finally got his blessing and got married on June 18, 1953, they got married on the front lawn of Coretta’s parent’s house in Marion, Alabama. They had their first child on November 17, 1955, Yolanda King. Then on October 23, 1957, they had their first son, Martin Luther King lll. They then had their second son on January 30, 1961, Dexter King. Lastly, they had their last child and their second daughter on March 28, 1963, Bernice King. Now, both of his parents are not alive anymore, his father died of a heart attack in the hospital of Crawford W. Long Hospital in Atlanta Georgia on November 11, 1984, at the age of 84. Martin’s mother died after she was shot and killed in Ebenezer Baptist Church by a man named Marcus Chenault on June 30, 1974, six years after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. One of his siblings died, including his brother, Alfred Daniel Williams, died from an “ accidental drowning “ in his pool at home, even to this day there are theories that he was killed, his wife did state, “ I think the system killed him.”, which brought more theories about his death. Moving on to his kids, the oldest, his daughter, Yolanda King, died on May 15, 2007. She collapsed in the home of her brother, Dexter’s best friend and was thought to have a heart condition. Finally, his wife, Coretta Scott, died on January 30, 2006, due to many health problems, including diseases, strokes, breathing problem, mild heart attacks, and more. There were many deaths in his family, but his upcoming death was the most heartbreaking.
His Interests
Martin attended high school like regular kids, but he skipped 9th and 11th and started attending Morehouse College in 1944 at the age of 15. In 1948, he earned his first degree in sociology. While in college, he became a pastor and earned his doctorate degree in 1955. Later on, an event happened that would change people’s lives forever. A woman named Rosa Parks boycotted and wouldn’t give up her seat to a white man because she simply didn’t want to, but that lead to her getting arrested and forced to have a meeting with the ministers, including the soon to be famous Martin Luther King Jr., After they met, they decided to plan a bus boycott, which meant all the African Americans couldn’t ride the buses and avoid giving in. This officially became known as the Montgomery bus boycott. This event resulted in the buses releasing segregated buses in Alabama. Then, in 1959, he took a trip to Mahatma Ghadi’s grave in India. He stated that it made him more attached to the Civil Rights Movement and he even was inspired by Gandhi’s no violence action and decided to do the same. When he had gotten back, he started to schedule protests like the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” and the “Birmingham Campaign”. and a group of African American kids named; Ezell Blair Jr., Favid Richmond, Franklin McCain, and Joseph Mcneil. They were from Greensboro, North Carolina and refused to get up from their seats because they weren’t being served. This became known as a sit-in and they started to become popular everywhere. Martin became very popular and ended up being arrested in 1963 because of the treatment the whites were giving to the African Americans. This resulted in John F. Kennedy giving Martin a call and expressing how he agreed and decided to help him with his protests and more. On August 28, 1963, he gave his famous “ I Have A Dream “ speech in Washington and that’s what he’s best known for stating, even to this day.
Martin’s Outcome
Martin ended up becoming very known for making protests around severe segregation places and was also known for his famous “ I Have A Dream” speech, as mentioned previously. There were many good results, but some were bad. Like, he did influence people in several different states to give up segregation and he also made a big impact on the fellow African Americans and they also ended up doing countless things to try to get a better education, rights, and more. These were some of the good influences, but some ended badly. On the other hand, there were some bad results. Including, the famous “ Bloody Sunday”, this was the famous name one of the protests, but ended up having people very wounded and very defeated. There weren’t many, but there were still many bad results and some even put in jail for it. This was the final outcome of Martin Luther King Jr.’s movement. Fifth segment (His Death): Before he died, on April 3rd, 1968, he gave his last speech. He did start to express to people how he’d grown tired of protests, marches, and more. On April 4th, 1968, he told his wife his suspicion of his death that day, but he brushes it off and went back to his motel on that night. Later on, he was getting ready for a dinner held later that night, and while standing on his balcony walking back and forth, he was shot by a man named James Ray and immediately died afterward. After his death, it sparked many riots and even more protests in other cities. Also, the end resulted in a manhunt for James Ray and he served a 99-year sentence in prison and died in prison on April 23, 1998.
Conclusion
Martin did things never before. He stood up when no one else would. Made things happen that never would’ve. His actions helped the African Americans get a good education they deserve while teaching the world an overall, helpful lesson. His business was left unfinished, but it may become finished with the help of great, diverse, and smart thinking.
