Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia to a father who was a minister. King was a gifted student and, at the age of 15, was ready to enter college. Four years later, at the age many students are just graduating from high school, King received his B.A. in sociology from Morehouse College. He continued his studies, first at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, earning a Bachelor of Divinity degree and then going on to earn a Doctor of Philosophy degree in systematic theology from Boston University.

Much of Martin Luther King's later work in nonviolent methods of resistance stemmed from the influence of Mahatma Gandhi. In 1959, King traveled to India and met the Ghandi family. King embarked on his long path to freedom through nonviolent resistance in 1955 with the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

• 1955: Montgomery Bus Boycott
  
  This was the famous boycott that occurred after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to obey Montgomery, Alabama's bus segregation laws. Martin Luther King helped organize and lead a boycott of public transportation in Montgomery.
  
  
  


• 1957: Southern Christian Leadership Conference
  
  Along with Ralph Abernathy and other civil rights activists, Martin Luther King helped establish the SCLC to create an organization that would provide support for nonviolent protests. He became the first president of the organization.



• 1961: Albany Movement
  
  In 1961, Martin Luther King and the SCLC got involved with the Albany Movement, a desegration coalition in Albany, Georgia. Although the group eventually failed in its attempts to desegrate Albany, King's participation in the movement and his subsequent arrest attracted national attention to the group's goals.



• 1963: Birmingham Campaign
  
  After the failures in Albany, the SCLC and King decided to turn their attention to larger cities, including Birmingham, Alabama. The goal of the campaign was to end the city of Birmingham's discriminatory segregation and economic practices. King helped organize sit-ins, boycotts and marches. The campaign ended with changes in Birmingham that provided greater freedom and equality for African-Americans within the city.



• 1963: March on Washington
  
  In 1963, six major civil rights organizations joined together to organize a nonviolent protest march in Washington, DC. More than 250,000 people from all over the US joined in the march. The demands of the marchers included an end to racially segregated schools and the enactment of civil rights legislation. It was at this march that Martin Luther King gave his powerful "I Have a Dream" speech.
  

Information Source
Wikipedia - Martin Luther King

This year (2009), Martin Luther King Day falls on Monday, January 19th. Since 1994, the day has been observed as the national Martin Luther King Day of Service, a day when Americans honor the memory of Dr. King by helping others in their community. The city of Philadelphia usually has the largest number of service activities, but cities and communities all across the United States participate. How will you contribute your services to others this year on Martin Luther King Day?