Martin Luther King Jr Biography - Martin Luther King Jr Day 2019

Who is Martin Luther King Jr ?

Martin Luther King Jr. was a Minister and Social Activist, he is the one who led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States of America from the mid-1950s until his death.

Early Years

Born as Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King Jr. was the middle child of Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. The King and Williams families were rooted in rural Georgia. Martin Jr.'s grandfather, A.D. Williams, was a rural minister for years and then moved to Atlanta in 1893. He took over the small, struggling Ebenezer Baptist church with around 13 members and made it into a forceful congregation. He married Jennie Celeste Parks and they had one child that survived, Alberta. Michael King Sr. came from a sharecropper family in a poor farming community. He married Alberta in 1926 after an eight-year courtship. The newly weds moved to A.D. Williams' home in Atlanta.
Michael King Sr. stepped in as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church upon the death of his father-in-law in 1931. He too became a successful minister, and adopted the name Martin Luther King Sr. in honor of the German Protestant religious leader Martin Luther. In due time, Michael Jr. would follow his father's lead and adopt the name himself.

When is Martin Luther King Day in 2018?

Martin Luther King Day is a federal holiday held on the third Monday of January. It celebrates the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr., an influential American civil rights leader. He is most well-known for his campaigns to end racial segregation on public transport and for racial equality in the United States.

How old is Martin Luther King Jr when he got married?

Dr. King and Mrs. King were married in Alabama on June 18, 1953. The marriage ceremony took place on the lawn of the Scott's home in Marion, AL. At the time of marriage King's age was around 24 and Mrs. King age was 26.
They became the parents of four children:

1. Yolanda King 
2. Martin Luther King III
3. Dexter Scott King and
4. Bernice King

During their marriage, King limited Coretta's role in the civil rights movement, expecting her to be a housewife and mother.

Why Martin Luther King Day is a National Holiday?

King was one of the many faces of a struggle that peacefully led to change. Although many lives were lost and by countless soldiers in that battle, he is one of the more visible figures that even met the President of the United States. The participants of the matches were met with violence for no reason. Black men are still met with violence for no reason. The perfect example of how to peacefully protest an issue and bring about change.