Preview

Martin Luther King Jr.

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1295 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Martin Luther King Jr.
Nathan Grass
Ms. Grace
English 9/Period 2
18 October 2011
Martin Luther King Jr.
One name changed the face of America. One man had an ambitious dream. That man was Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed that one person could change everything. MLK Jr. was the most important man in the Civil Rights movement. He experienced racism at a very young age and later was the biggest contributor to the Civil Rights movement until his life came to an abrupt end.
Martin Luther King was born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia (Carson). King was born Michael Luther King. Michael eventually changed his name to Martin. Even though King was brought up in a secure place, it did not protect him from the prejudices (Carson). At age six King had his first encounter with racism when a classmate of his said his mom could not play with King anymore because they were attending segregated schools (Carson). Then at the age of 12 King’s grandmother died of a fatal heart attack (Carson). King was very upset and distraught. When he attended a parade without his parents’ permission he attempted suicide from a second story building (Carson).
King received a very good education for an African-American during that time. At age 15 King attended Morehouse College in Atlanta (Carson). He entered college very early in his life because of a special wartime program that was intended to boost enrollment at Colleges (Carson). “Before beginning college, however, King spent the summer on a tobacco farm in Connecticut; it was his first extended stay away from home and his first substantial experience of race relations outside the segregated South (Carson).” King was shocked of how the different races were treated equally. At Morehouse King’s studies were in Medicine and law (Carson). From here he attended Crozer Theological Seminary (Linde). Here King became familiar with Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence (Carson). After this King went to Boston University (Carson).



Cited: Burnes, Rebecca. Burial for a King: Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral and the week that transformed Atlanta and Rocked the Nation. 2011. Book. 06 Oct. 2011. Carson, Clayborne. “Martin Luther King, Jr. Biography.” Biography Channel. 2001. Web. 06 Oct. 2011 “Life of Martin Luther King Jr. “ Seattle Times. Web. 06 Oct. 2011. Linde, Barbara M. Martin Luther King, Jr. Gareth Stevens Pub. 2011. Book. 06 Oct. 2011. Rosenberg, Jennifer. “Martin Luther King Jr. Assassinated.” History 1900s. about. Web 06 October 12

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr was born January 15, 1929 to the name of Michael Luther King Jr, in Atlanta, Georgia. King came from a comfortable middle class family living on the street known as “African American wall street” for the first twelve years of his life. The first time he ever experienced a form of prejudice was at the age of six when one of his Caucasian playmates told him that his parents stated they could no longer be friends. One particular summer King spent time on a tobacco farm in Connecticut. That visit was the first time he had ever experienced race relations that did not involve the south. He was taken back at how the different races were involved in each other’s everyday life without problems. This experience gave King a glimpse of what life could be like.…

    • 2449 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the greatest civil rights activists this nation has ever seen. The ability he had to seize an opportune moment in time was phenomenal. A true example of this ability was a time he had been jailed for not having the proper permits during a civil rights parade in Birmingham, Alabama. While he was in jail, eight clergymen criticized him, calling his activities “unwise and untimely” (112). He responded to their criticism with amazing rhetoric, grasping at their hearts and minds with syntax, diction, examples, and allusions in his now famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”…

    • 854 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    martin luther king

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. He was born to Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. King Jr. had an older sister, Willie Christine King, and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King. Growing up in Atlanta, King attended Booker T. Washington High School. He was a very intelligent student, he skipped both the 9th and the 12th grade and entered Morehouse College at fifteen without graduating from high school. In 1948, he graduated from Morehouse with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology, and enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary. He graduated from Crozer with a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1951.…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr.

    • 2672 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr, is one of the most important people in the history of America because he fought for equality between blacks and whites. His famous "I Have A Dream" speech made a huge difference. He believed in fighting hate with love.…

    • 2672 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King was one of the most world renowned civil rights activist. He not only wanted peace between his fellow black people, but in the whole nation, black and white. Good morning/afternoon Mrs Harding and class, today I am here to talk to you about Martin Luther King and how he is an example to all Christians. Martin Luther King was one of the key parts in the civil rights movement. He promoted peace between black and white Americans through his speech ‘I have a dream’.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    was a very influential man on King's life. He was a Baptist minister and was in charge of the children's moral and religious education. To Mr. King, his father was a model of courage and compassion and strength. King Sr. "had led a successful campaign to equalize the salaries of white and black teachers in Atlanta". He worked hard and well for the rights of people and taught his son to do it as well. King Jr. knew from a young age that people didn't have the same rights and he couldn't understand the reason as to why. He tried to comprehend it, but he couldn't see how a man could be so distasteful to another man so much just because of the color of his skin. King once said, "I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character". He wanted to open people’s eyes and see each other as being people. Not to be judged on their race, religion, gender, age or anything except their character and what they are willing to do to change things in the world. "Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness." -Martin Luther King Jr. . He was very passionate and he wanted others to be as well.…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On April 16th, 1963, during the peak of the Civil Rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote to a collection of clergymen in regards to his beliefs and protests. In his “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” King aptly wrote to the clergymen about their concerns in a respectful manner, while maintaining his dignity and explaining his purpose. In order to validate his points, he first built his credibility, and from there flowed into a plethora of other strategies. His emotional anecdotes and insight are strong points in his letter, appealing to the clergymen’s sense of compassion and justice. The imagery that accompanies his writing creates vivid and horrifying scenes meant to encourage the reader to join King in his civil rights endeavors. Logically, King presents his values in a manner that becomes inarguable against, which furthers the persuasive value of his writing. His…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther king was born on January 15, 1929 to the parents of Martin King and Alberta King. He was the second child of the family and was born at his maternal grandparents home. King was a baptist and would sing in the church choir. When he turned 5 years old, he began to attend a public school. In May 1947, Martin’s grandmother, Jennie, had died of a heart attack. He was so sad that he attempted to suicide, but he ended up wanting to live and if he did suicide we don’t know where we would be today. As a young child growing up in the South, King Jr. had to deal with a great amount of segregation. This man had…

    • 1187 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr. was born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.When he was younger he did not quite understand why blacks and whites were different. As he grew up he made everyone equal in his mind. King was an inspiration even when he was younger to help his community. For example, he was a minister and pastor in many churches because of his belief in God, he fought against racial prejudice, and became a sharecropper family in a poor farming community. King told us that…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    (www.sparknotes.com) A few moments later there was a loud crack and Martin flung to the wall. He had been shot in the head and neck, then he died at the St. Joseph’s Hospital in Memphis. “The alleged assassin, James Earl Ray, was apprehended a month later in Heathrow Airport in London. He confessed to the killing, but retracted his confession after he had been imprisoned. There is much speculation that the FBI was involved in King's death.Upon news of the assassination, riots erupted nation-wide. President Johnson declared 7 April a national day of mourning–but mourning in many places took the form of violence and arson. The number of riots totaled 168; the number of arrests, 3000; the number of injuries, over 20,000; and the number of soldiers called in to restore order, 55,000.”…

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Zepp, Ira G., Jr. The Social Vision of Martin Luther King Jr. New York: Carlson Publishing Inc., 1989. 123-47…

    • 1108 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Not only was it a letter written in an unimaginable circumstance, beginning on margins of the newspaper and continuing on scraps of writing paper supplied by a fellow prisoner but it was the history of the author who made the letter so significant. To fully understand the multitude of his work, one must start with background knowledge. To set the scene, young, Martin Luther King Jr. attended segregated public schools in Georgia. He graduated high school at the age of fifteen. He then attended Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution, and received his B.A. degree in 1948. Seven years later, Dr. King earned his graduate degree from Boston University. He followed in his father and grandfather’s footsteps as pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Being born and raised in the South prior to the Civil Rights movement, forcing him to face adversity everyday, did not defeat Dr. King like it did his fellow Negroes; it ignited him.…

    • 1624 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The late Dr. Martin L. King life span development and personality began long before his birth. His father Martin Luther Sr. parents were poor sharecroppers’. Born in 1899 the 19th day of December in Stockbridge, Georgia. King witness actual cruelty of racism in the south. He was victimized and beaten by a white man in his early teenage years, also observe a white crowd hang a black man. Nevertheless his family continues to believe in nonviolenceduring a time when racial prejudice and racial injustice existence. When his mother was dying, King curse and hated white people, but his mother disagreed. “Hattred makes nottin but more hatred… don’t do it.” Jackson. C (nd).…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    My paper addresses the newly built monument, The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Throughout the paper I discuss several aspects of the memorial and the significance of each part to history. The main topic of my paper is that although this was a beautifully thought out monument and the various elements with perfect with Dr. King’s life, there can always be something that may be wrong. There may be controversy even through perfection.…

    • 1978 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dr Lord Legacy

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The morning of January 15, 1929 imprints the introduction of a standout amongst the most motivating and compelling individuals ever, Dr. Martin Luther King. The life of Dr. Lord was an uncommon one. His life was one loaded with energy and devotion for something he adored. Very few individuals on this planet would experience the hardships that he persevered. Since Dr. Lord was conceived, his whole life was dedicated to the health and improvement of minorities around him, as well as the privilege and opportunities of mankind overall. Beginning as a Pastor in Montgomery, AL, King started his voyage lecturing about the significance of adoration, acknowledgment and balance and additionally diminishing disdain.…

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics