Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an American civil rights leader, born on January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia. He was the second child and first son of Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams Kings. Dr. King’s legal name at birth was Michael King, and also his father’s; however it was changed during a trip to Germany to honour the German reformer Martin Luther. When King was young, he befriended a white boy whose family owned a business near his home. When they were six years old, he attended a segregated school for African Americans whilst his friend attended a different school. They were no longer allowed to see each other which resulted to King losing a friend due to their father’s prejudice against black people. He suffered …show more content…
The day after, the Birmingham campaign was established. This was the turning point to end the segregation war in the South. The campaign, organised by SCLC, was to bring attention to the integration efforts of African Americans in Birmingham Alabama. During King’s eleven night stay in jail, he wrote his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The letter addresses to several clergymen who criticized his actions, defending his strategy of non-violent resistance to racism. About a month later, on May 10th, the Birmingham agreement is announced with the desegregation of schools, restaurants, and stores, as well as the hiring of black people …show more content…
King received the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10th, 1964, making him the youngest person to be awarded at age thirty five. King continued his fight for desegregation and unity through protests, marches and demonstrations. On March 28th, 1968, King lead a march that turned out to be one of the worst times he has faced as a civil rights leader. During the march, a number of young African Americans began breaking storefronts windows. Soon, the march turned violent and became his first time in a violent event. Martin Luther King was led away by James Lawson who was also leading the protest. Police attacked with tear gas and clubs and soon, peaceful marchers were caught up in the same violence. The protest resulted in one death of a teenager, the arrest of 300 black people and many injured. King felt guilt and was deeply depressed about the events. This was his last ever