Martin Luther King Day

The third Monday of every January marks a special occasion for Americans, a celebration of the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the country’s most outspoken civil rights activists. The day is a federal holiday for the United States after being introduced into law in 1983 and first being observed in 1986.

Although many people across Europe know the name Martin Luther King, but not about his life, goals, achievements and what he symbolises to the United States. Here we will try to give you an insight into his life:

The story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. starts with his birth on January 15^th 1929, born to Michael King, Sr., and Alberta Williams Kings in Atlanta, Georgia. A family trip to Germany in 1934 led to a significant change in the family after Michael King Sr. decided to alter his name and his son’s name in honour of Martin Luther, the famous German Protestant leader.

As he grew up, Martin Luther King Jr. attended school in Atlanta, although he left without graduating, and went to college where he received a BA in Sociology and eventually went on to gain a Doctorate in Philosophy. However the King family also had an additional teacher, a friend of the family, Howard Thurman. Mr Thurman was well versed in theology and sociology, subjects that he passed on his passion for to the young King and his friends.

From this grounding Martin Luther King began his crusade for civil rights after leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, inspired by Rosa Parks and her refusal to follow a bus driver’s instructions for her to relinquish her seat to a white passenger. The boycott ran for 385 days and ended when the United States District Court ruled to end racial segregation on Montgomery’s public buses, during the protest Dr. King was arrested and also had his house bombed amidst heightening tensions.

Dr King’s reputation grew throughout the 1950′s as he and other civil rights activists formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to help organise the civil rights and non-violent protests that were to lead him to becoming the youngest person awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for ended racial prejudice in the United States.

The key to Martin Luther King’s success on a global scale was, much like Ghandi, his insistance on non-violent protest. By ensuring that he always maintained control of himself and the moral high ground his message of equality rang clear to not just African-Americans, but to the impoverished masses seeking equality between classes.

On August 28^th 1963, King, the SCLC and other civil rights organisations led the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was here, in front of the Lincoln Memorial, that he delivered his famous “I have a dream” oratory (which we have added a video of the full speech below). A quarter of a million people stood in the shadow of the Washington monument protesting to bring an end to segragation in schools, to prevent police brutality against civil rights protestors, to introduce a $2 minimum wage and a law prohibiting racial discrimination in the workplace, captivated by his rousing words.

Following more years of marches and demonstrations, during which Dr. King protested against America’s presence in Vietnam and economic injustices, his popularity grew in the South of the United States and huge inroads were gained in achieving equality for minorities. But sadly, on 4^th April 1968, Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, as he stood on the balcony of his hotel room. His killer, James Earl Ray, was arrested 2 months later as he attempted to board a plane at Heathrow Airport.

And now, every year, on the third monday of January the Americans celebrate the life of one extraordinary person who made a difference for so many. As a mark of respect even the search engines across the world find a way of representing him on Martin Luther King Day, as shown in the images below.

Google’s tribute

Bing’s tribute

Ask’s tribute

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