The first serious confrontation MLK had with racism was when his white playmates had to attend a different elementary school from his, and once the year started, their parents no longer allowed MLK to come over and play. MLK entered the Yonge Street Elementary School. Later MLK attended Booker T. Washington High School and skips the ninth and the eleventh grades. MLK leaves before graduation due to his acceptance and early admission in the Atlanta Morehouse College program for advanced placement at the age of 15. ("Martin Luther King, Jr." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 21 May 2013.)
In May 1941, when MLK was twelve years old his grandmother, Jennie, died. The incident left MLK in agony, because he was out watching a parade when he was told not to by his parents when she died. Upset at the news, MLK jumped from a second story window at the family home, attempting suicide. Martin Luther King Jr. was deeply involved in church and worship, he often questioned religion all together and felt uncomfortable with over emotional show of religious worship. This problem continued through much of his teenage years, originally leading him to decide against entering the ministry. ("Martin Luther King Jr. Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 21 May 2013.)
In his junior year of high school, MLK took a Bible class. It changed his mind and he decided to renew his faith and start to envision a career in the ministry. In the fall of his senior year he told his father that he was going to enter the ministry. In 1947 MLK delivered his first prepared sermon in his father's church, Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, at 18 years old. On June 18, 1953 MLK decided to marry Coretta Scott at her parent’s home in Marion, Alabama. They got married by Martin's father. Coretta's parents are Obadiah and Bernice McMurray Scott.
In March 1955 a school girl, 15 years old named Rosa Parks (birth name Claudette Colvin), refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in agreement with the Jim Crow laws. MLK was on the board from the Birmingham African American community that looked into the case, Edgar Nixon and Clifford Durr decided to wait for a better case to pursue. On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court issued its landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling, which declared that racially segregated public schools were inherently unequal. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was planned by Edgar and led by Martin. ("Notable Achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." KBTX RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2013.)
The boycott lasted for 385 days (one year and twenty days). The situation became so edgy that MLK's house was bombed. MLK was arrested during this campaign. Which ended with a United States District Court ruling in Browder v. Gayle that ended racial segregation on all Montgomery public buses. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an African American civil rights organization. They were closely associated with their first president Martin Luther King Jr. ("Notable Achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." KBTX RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2013.)("Martin Luther King Jr. Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 21 May 2013.)
The Albany Movement was an alliance formed in Albany, Georgia to try to abolish segregation in November, 1961. In December, Martin and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference became involved. The movement gathered thousands of citizens for a broad front nonviolent attack. The attack was on every aspect of segregation within the city and attracted nationwide attention. ("Notable Achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." WNDU RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2013.)
The March on Washington was in 1963. MLK was among the leaders of the so called "Big Six" civil rights organizations who were instrumental in the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. The other leaders and organizations comprising the Big Six were Roy Wilkins (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). Whitney Young (National Urban League). A. Philip Randolph (Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters). John Lewis (SNCC) and James L. Farmer (Jr. of the Congress of Racial Equality). ("Notable Achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." WNDU RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2013.)
Kennedy initially opposed the march outright, because he was concerned it would negatively impact the drive for passage of civil rights legislation, but the organizers made it sure that the march would proceed. On August 28, 1963 MLK delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to a crowd estimated to be 250,000 at the Marched on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. On March 26, 1964 Martin Luther King Jr. met Malcolm X for the first and only time but, only long enough for pictures to be taken. Both men were at Washington, D.C. Attending the Senate's debate on the Civil Rights bill. On February 21 Malcolm X was assassinated. ("Martin Luther King Timeline." Martin Luther King Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2013.)
March 7 the Edmund Pettus Bridge incident took place in Selma, Alabama where marchers were beaten and tear gassed. MLK and 25,000 other protestors march from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights. On June 6, James Meredith was shot and wounded on the "March Against Fear" from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson Mississippi. On June 7, after the shooting MLK, Floyd McKissick, and Stokely Carmichael resume the “March Against Fear” from Memphis to Jackson, Mississippi. April 3 MLK delivers his last speech at a rally at Mason Temple, Memphis. He gave the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech. ("Notable Achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." WNDU RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2013.)
On April 4 Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated while standing on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. MLK was shot and killed. The next day president Lyndon B. Johnson decrees that Sunday, April 7, 1968 be a day of national mourning in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ("Martin Luther King Timeline." Martin Luther King Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2013. )
It's not that Martin Luther King became the leader of the civil rights movement that made him so amazing. It was just the way he always led the movement. MLK argued for the non-violent resistance against unfair laws. Civil rights activists organized demonstrations, marches, boycotts, strikes, and voter registration drives, and tried their hardest to disobey laws that they knew were wrong and unjust. (Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 22 May 2013.)
In conclusion, Martin Luther King Jr. was an excellent leader. MLK is a man that will never be forgotten. This is because of all the good things that he has done for the black population. MLK was very intelligent, he knew how to make the right decision on his movements and speeches. He was and still is a very inspiring person. MLK was awarded at least 50 honorary degrees from colleges and universities in the U.S. and other places. Besides winning the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, in 1965 King was awarded the American Liberties Medallion by the American Jewish Committee for his exceptional advancement of the principles of human liberty.
("Martin Luther King Timeline." Martin Luther King Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2013.)
("Martin Luther King, Jr." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 21 May 2013.)
("Martin Luther King Jr. Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 21 May 2013.)
("Notable Achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." KBTX RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2013.)
("Notable Achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." WNDU RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2013.)
(Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 22 May 2013.)
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