Martin Luther King JR.- Let Freedom Ring
A minister, a poet, a lover of words & freedom. He was a family man, a talented speaker, a seeker of truth & justice. He met every challenge he faced. By the time he went home to god, he was already an American icon! He was Martin Luther King JR. Born as Michael Luther King JR. later in life changed his name to Martin. His grandfather and father were pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. The family legacies served there since 1914 & from 1960 until his death, Martin Luther King JR. acted as co-pastor alongside his father.
Martin attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of 15 after skipping two grades. he was a talented young man receiving his Bachelor of the Arts degree in 1948 from Morehouse College a distinguished institution in Atlanta which both his father and grandfather graduated from. After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary he was awarded bachelors of Divinity in 1951, he then enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University and received his PhD in 1955 in Boston.
Birth of a Hero
In Boston, he also met and married Coretta Scott an intellectual and artistic young woman. They bore two sons and two daughters; in 1954, Martin Luther King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery Alabama. He was a strong advocate for civil rights in the black community; he held a position in the executive committee of then NAACP, the leading civil rights advocates at that time. As a member, one of his tasks was to organize the first great civil rights protest ever to occur in United States contemporary history. This was a 382 day long bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama. At the time people of different races were not allowed to ride in the same sections of the bus and sometimes not even on the same buses at all.
martin luther king juniorThe boycott would prove to be quite effective for, on December 21st 1956 the Supreme Court of the United States declared unconstitutional all the laws requiring segregation on buses. during this boycott. King was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subject to personal abuse but at the same time he emerged as a hero in the Civil Rights community. Martin Luther King JR. is not just famous however for his ‘I have a dream’ speech, what is the most outstanding is he based his entire model for the non-violent movement.
The protests
On his experience as a Christian minister he led massive protests that caught the attention of the entire world. All stemming from his belief that all men are created equal under God. Before a crowd of nearly 250,000 people he made a proclamation, and that proclamation was that we should not be judged by the color of our skin but rather by the content of our character and his character was one of greatness, one that will be remembered in the history books as a man beyond reproach.martin luther king junior
A man who received the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 35. A man who has given distinguished honors from leaders all over the world. A champion for the rights of those who have none. Would that he were with us today but alas it is not so. A sniper ended his life on April 4th of his motel room in Memphis Tennessee. But though the man died that day his legacy lives on. It lives on in the hearts of those who are like-minded.
Followers seeking true equality. Not the fraudulent equality that puts one above another. But a truly color blind equality and one that values each personas a child of God. And as children of God ourselves we must do all that we can to make sure that his dream is upheld. His legacy is not forgotten. That we too may join on that triumphant day in saying free at last free at last. Thank God Almighty we are free at last.
