Born January 15, 1929
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to a Baptist minister father and a musician mother. A gifted student, he entered college at 15 and earned his PhD by 26. Few predicted this scholarly young man would become the voice of America’s civil rights movement.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
When Rosa Parks was arrested in 1955, the 26-year-old King led the 381-day Montgomery Bus Boycott. His house was bombed, he was arrested, but the boycott succeeded in ending bus segregation. A movement had found its leader.
Nonviolent Resistance
King embraced Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent protest. Sit-ins, freedom rides, and marches confronted segregation across the South. The 1963 Birmingham campaign, with its shocking images of police dogs attacking peaceful protesters, turned national opinion toward civil rights.
The Dream Speech
On August 28, 1963, 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial. King delivered his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, envisioning a nation where people ‘will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.’ It remains one of history’s most powerful addresses.
A Federal Holiday
King was assassinated on April 4, 1968. In 1983, President Reagan signed legislation making his birthday a federal holiday, observed on the third Monday of January. It is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service, encouraging Americans to volunteer in their communities—honoring King’s legacy through action.
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