Martin Luther King Junior
By Lucas Shrader (1-19-25)
Martin Luther King Junior was a Civil Rights activist and protested against racism for his entire life. He was born January 15, 1929. He went to jail 29 times while peacefully protesting, and over 250,000 witnessed and marched in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Martin always looked up to his father, who was a church pastor and suffered from segregation daily. As a child, he had a white neighbor who he played with, but the neighbor’s father was enraged after finding out that his son was playing with a black boy, and immediately demanded for their friendship to end. Martin was upset because he realized the only reason the father required his friendship to end was because of his skin color. This heavily affected Martin, inspiring him to become a social rights activist when he was older.
After going to local schools, he went to Morehouse College in 1944. He became a minister after graduating, and started advocating for social rights of anyone segregated against through marches and peaceful protests as well as his well known sit-ins at luncheonettes. At 35, he won the Nobel Peace Prize, at the time he was the youngest person to earn it.
On August 28th, 1963, Martin gave his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, which boosted his fame to the sky. In coming years, African Americans were given equal rights, ending a large portion of racism and segregation.
Little did Martin and his fellow activists know, Martin’s newfound fame would make him even more of a target for violence. Sadly, on Thursday, April 4th, Martin Luther King was assassinated by James Earl Ray, unfortunately ending his life. James Earl Ray was sentenced to 99 years in prison.
Martin Luther King impacted everyone around the world, and would never be forgotten, as a social rights activist, changing the world for everyone. And that is the story of Martin Luther King Junior. MLK day is celebrated on January 20th this year, and is a day to honor his legacy and recognize his accomplishments.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Martin always looked up to his father, who was a church pastor and suffered from segregation daily. As a child, he had a white neighbor who he played with, but the neighbor’s father was enraged after finding out that his son was playing with a black boy, and immediately demanded for their friendship to end. Martin was upset because he realized the only reason the father required his friendship to end was because of his skin color. This heavily affected Martin, inspiring him to become a social rights activist when he was older.
After going to local schools, he went to Morehouse College in 1944. He became a minister after graduating, and started advocating for social rights of anyone segregated against through marches and peaceful protests as well as his well known sit-ins at luncheonettes. At 35, he won the Nobel Peace Prize, at the time he was the youngest person to earn it.
On August 28th, 1963, Martin gave his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, which boosted his fame to the sky. In coming years, African Americans were given equal rights, ending a large portion of racism and segregation.
Little did Martin and his fellow activists know, Martin’s newfound fame would make him even more of a target for violence. Sadly, on Thursday, April 4th, Martin Luther King was assassinated by James Earl Ray, unfortunately ending his life. James Earl Ray was sentenced to 99 years in prison.
Martin Luther King impacted everyone around the world, and would never be forgotten, as a social rights activist, changing the world for everyone. And that is the story of Martin Luther King Junior. MLK day is celebrated on January 20th this year, and is a day to honor his legacy and recognize his accomplishments.
