Today marks the 81st anniversary of the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Monday, the nation will celebrate the man and his mission on the holiday set aside in honor of King's birthday. The following is a reflection of some of poignant moments of Dr. King's life and his legacy in bringing the Civil Rights movement to the foreground of America's conscience.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born to the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr., and Alberta Williams King on January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.
An excellent scholar, Martin Luther King Jr. graduates from Atlanta's Morehouse College. Dr. King and other civil rights activists mobilize a yearlong boycott of Montgomery's bus system. Dr. King is arrested for the first time for driving over the speed limit. Four days later, the lives of the King family are threatened when a bomb is thrown onto the porch of their Montgomery home. Later this year, Dr. King is indicted on charges related to the Montgomery bus boycott. The District court rules that bus segregation is unconstitutional and an all-race inclusive Montgomery bus system returns to black neighborhoods.
1957 -- Amid more threats against his life, Martin Luther King Jr. founds the the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He is elected president of the organization.
1958 -- Dr. King's book "Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story" is published. A mentally ill woman stabs Dr. King in the chest during a book signing in Harlem.
1959 -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. resigns from the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and moves his family back to his birthplace of Atlanta to continue directing the SCLC. The King family travel to India to study Mahatma Gandhi teachings of non-violence which would later become the foundation of his Civil Rights campaign.
1960 -- Martin Luther King Jr. becomes co-pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church. King is arrested in Atlanta after conducting a sit-in.
1961 -- A demonstration to desegregate public facilities in Albany, Georgia, leads to Dr. King's arrest on charges of protesting without a permit. He is later convicted on the charges.
1963 -- King writes his now-famous "Letter From Birmingham Jail" while imprisoned for leading a non-violent sit-in to protest the segregation of eating facilities. More acts of civil disobedience lead to authorities unleashing fire hoses and police dogs on protestors in Birmingham. Later this year, in a victorious moment for Civil Rights, the Supreme Court rules Birmingham's segregation laws unconstitutional. Dr. King's book "Strength to Love" is published. On August 28th, Dr. King delivers the speech which critics would later deem the most powerful speech of the 20th Century. King's "I Have A Dream Speech" was heard by thousands on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. It remains, in effect, one of the most memorable speeches of all-time. On November 22, President Kennedy is killed by a sniper's bullet while riding in an open-car motorcade in Dallas, Texas.
1964 -- Dr. King joins demonstrations in St. Augustine, Florida for the integration of public accommodations. His book "Why We Can't Wait" is published by Harper & Row. At age 35, Dr. King becomes the youngest man, the second American, and third black man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
1965 -- Civil rights activist Malcolm X is gunned down in New York City in February of this year. In Alabama, thousands of protest marchers leave Selma for a march to Montgomery. Along their journey, they stop to hear a speech by Dr. King. Later this year, President Johnson signs the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
1966 -- Dr. King launches a drive to make Chicago an open city in regard to housing. He is stoned in Chicago as he leads a march through crowds of angry whites. 1967 -- Martin Luther King Jr. writes his final book "Where Do We Go from Here?" while visiting Jamaica. Alabama is ordered to desegregate all public schools by theáfederal government. Dr. King announces the formation of a Poor People's Campaign.
1968 -- Dr. King leads a parade of protestors in support of striking black sanitation workers. King delivers his "I Have Been to the Mountain Top" speech at the Memphis Masonic Temple in Tennessee on April 3rd. It would be his last speech. On April 4th, the day after he delivers his historic speech, a sniper kills Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. King was just 39 years old. Upon learning the news, Senator Robert Kennedy announces the death of Dr. King in Indianapolis, Indiana. Four days after Dr. King's assassination, on April 8th, Democratic Michigan Representative John Conyers submits the first legislation to propose King's birthday as a holiday. James Earl Ray is captured, convicted, and sentenced to 99 years in prison for the murder of Dr. King. Ray later recants his confession and spends the rest of his life professing his innocence behind bars.
