Martin Luther King Jr.: A Champion of Rights and Freedoms.

Martin Luther King Jr.

When anyone mentions the name Martin Luther King Jr. many thoughts could come to mind. You may think about how he was a great civil and religious leader. Or that he was a devoted husband and father. Another thought could be about how he was a man recognized throughout the world as an activist for human rights. All of these things, and many more, are true about a man who played such an important role in the fight for civil rights in America that without him, the face of North America might not be the same.

Family and Education

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on Jan.15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. From the beginning he was destined to be a strong willed religious man and a champion of civil rights and freedoms His father was the pastor of a local Baptist church and his grandfather was the founder of Atlanta's chapter of the NAACP. He grew up in a very religious household where he was taught to stand up for what he believed in. Martin attended Morehouse College in Atlanta and then went on to study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. After that Martin attended Boston University where he began to study Mahatma Gandhi and his practices of non-violent protests to promote social change. In 1955, King would receive his Ph. D. in systematic theology. During his time at university Martin meet Corretta Scott, whom he married in 1953. With Coretta, King would become a father of four including two girls and two boys.

Beliefs

Martin was brought up in a Baptist household where his father and grandfather were both pastors. Martin became an ordained minister at 19. Throughout his life he would have many positions as a pastor or minister. But as much as...