Martin Luther King Jr. is recognized
for his work in the civil rights movement in America. Martin Luther King Jr.
believed that everyone should be treated equally regardless
of their race or skin color. He fought against racial discrimination and
prejudice saying that people should be judged according to their character and not
according to the color of their skin.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born a
minister's son on January 15, 1929. He entered
college when he was only 15 years old. While in college he studied black
history, religion and theology. He received his PhD. in philosophy from
Boston University. After college he became a minister and married
Coretta Scott. King became the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist
Church where he preached against the segregation of black people. King's most famous speech, "I Have a
Dream," was given in 1963 in front of the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, D.C.
250,000 people gathered to hear him speek that day. Even though King believed in
non-violent methods to achieve his goal of desegregation, his life ended
very violently. King was killed by an assassin at the age of
39 in Memphis, Tennessee. We now honor the memory of Martin Luther King Jr.
every year on his birthday.
