From Montgomery to Memphis: The life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Junior was born with the name Michael King Junior on January 15th, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia.

He was name after his father, Michael King Senior, and was the middle child of three that Michael Senior had with his wife, Alberta.

His father was a Baptist minister while his mother was a schoolteacher. As a young boy, King Junior would often listen to his father's sermons at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

It was here that he developed a love for public speaking. After visiting Germany in 1934 and seeing the historical sites of the protestant reformation, King Senior returned to America and officially changed his name from Michael to Martin Luther, to honour the famous 16th century protestant reformer.

As a result, Michael Junior also changed his name to Martin Luther.

At 15 years old, Martin Luther King Junior enrolled at Morehouse College. This is where he met his future wife, Coretta Scott.

He graduated from Morehouse in 1948 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology.

Afterward, he attended Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree.

In 1951, he began his doctoral studies at Boston University and received his PhD in 1955.

King married Coretta Scott on June 18th, 1953, and they went on to have four children together: Yolanda, Martin Luther III, Dexter, and Bernice.

Following their marriage, King and Corretta moved to Montgomery, Alabama. It was here that King became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

In December of 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person.

This act of defiance inspired others in the black community to boycott the buses. The boycott lasted for 381 days and was a huge financial strain on the city bus system.

King was chosen as the leader of the boycott due to his gift for public speaking.

During the boycott, King's house was bombed, and he was arrested. Despite these challenges, he continued to lead protests and rallies.

On December 21st, 1956, the Supreme Court ruled that segregated seating on buses was unconstitutional, and the boycott came to an end.

Martin Luther King Junior was greatly influenced by the work of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was an Indian political leader who fought for India's independence from British rule.

He did this through a process of nonviolent resistance. This is when people protest without using violence. King was fascinated by this idea and started to use it in his own civil rights work.

In 1957, King became the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

The SCLC was a civil rights organization that used nonviolent methods to fight for equal rights for all Americans regardless of race.

In 1963, King and the SCLC came to Birmingham, Alabama, to protest against racism.

The city was one of the most segregated in America, and black people were treated very unfairly.

The police responded to the protests with force, using water hoses and dogs on the demonstrators.

This violent response was captured by news cameras and caused outrage around the world.

Despite the violence, King continued to lead more protests in Birmingham. On April 12th he was arrested for breaking an injunction that prevented demonstrations in the city.

While in jail, he wrote his famous 'Letter from a Birmingham Jail.' In this letter, he explained why it was important to use nonviolent methods when protesting against injustice.

On August 28th, 1963, King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

This speech is one of the most well-known speeches in American history. In it, King talked about his dream of a future where all Americans are treated equally regardless of the color of their skin.

He also talked about how he wanted his children to be judged by their character and not by the colour of their skin.

This speech helped to inspire millions of Americans to fight for equal rights for all citizens, regardless of race.

It also helped to make Martin Luther King Junior into a household name.

In 1963, King was awarded the Time Magazine 'Person of the Year' award. This is given to the person who has had the biggest impact on the world in that year.

Then, in 1964, at the age of 35, he became the youngest person to ever receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

He was given this award for his work in fighting for civil rights through nonviolent methods.

In 1965, King and the SCLC helped to organize a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

This was to protest against the fact that black people were not being allowed to vote.

The police responded to the march with violence, and this was shown on television.

The public outcry that followed led to President Lyndon B. Johnson proposing and Congress passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

This act made it illegal for states to stop anyone from voting based on their race. This was another huge victory for King and the civil rights movement.

On April 4th, 1968, King was assassinated by James Earl Ray while standing on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee.

James Earl Ray was a white man who disagreed with King's views on racial equality.

King's assassination led to riots and protests in over 100 American cities. It also resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which made it illegal to discriminate against people based on their race, color, religion, or national origin in housing and employment.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill making Martin Luther King Day a national holiday.

This is celebrated on the third Monday in January, which is around the time of King's birthday.

Every year on this day, people across America celebrate King's life and legacy.

Martin Luther King Junior was one of the most important figures in American history.

He fought for civil rights through nonviolent methods and helped to make America a more equal place for all citizens.

He will be remembered as an inspirational leader who changed the course of history.