Martin Luther King Jr.'s Early Life

Martin Luther King Jr’s early life was really interesting! He was a civil rights activist who was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. He and his father were both born as Michael King, but after a 1934 trip to Germany to attend the Fifth Baptist World Alliance Congress in Berlin, the elder King changed both of their names to Martin Luther King in honour of the German reformer Martin Luther. As a child, Martin was friends with a white boy. When they turned six, the boy went to a school for white people and Martin went to a school for African Americans. Martin lost his friend because the boy’s father didn’t want them to play together anymore. Wow, what an interesting early life.

Martin Luther King Jr. attended Booker T. Washington High school. He was really good at public speaking and he became part of his school’s debate team. During his junior year in high school, he won first prize in an oratorical
organized a campaign in downtown Birmingham, but the city police used dogs and fire hoses on the demonstrators. Martin was arrested along with a large amount of his supporters. After the Birmingham campaign, Martin and his supporters made plans for a huge demonstration in the nation’s capital. On August 28, 1963, Martin and his supporters drew in more than 200,000 people in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial. This is where he gave his “ I Have a Dream” speech.

Martin Luther King Jr. accomplished a lot in his life, but on April 4, 1968, his life was cut short; he was assassinated by James Earl Ray on the balcony outside his room in a motel. Some of his accomplishments are: he helped to make progress on civil rights in the U.S and he helped to fight against racial segregation. His work has earned him a national holiday! There are also schools and public buildings named after him too! Martin Luther King Jr’s life was really interesting. How do you think the world would be like without martin Luther king Jr’s