God is on our side.
M a rtin L u th er K in g , J r., was
born in A tlan ta, Georgia on Janu
ary 15, 1929 in a com fortable thir-
teen-room tw o-story house at 501
Auburn Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia.
His parents were middle class Black
A m ericans. M a rtin Lu th er King,
Sr., his father, was a Baptist minis
ter; his m other, A lb erta W illiam s
King, a schoolteacher.
King Jr. was nineteen when he
graduated from Morehouse College
in 1948. Three years later he re
ceived a Bachelor o f Divinity degree
at Crozer Theological Seminary in
Chester, Pennsylvania, graduating
at the head o f the class. In 1951 he
entered the G ra d u ate School o f
Theology at Boston University and
was awarded a Ph .D . degree in sys
tematic theology four years later.
While studying at Boston Univer
sity, K ing met C o re tta Scott o f
M a rio n , A la b a m a , who was then
studying at the New England C on
servatory o f M usic. She had just
graduated from A n tio ch College.
Coretta and Martin were married in
1953, and became the parents o f Yo
landa Denise, M a rtin Luther i l l ,
Dexter, and Bernice Albertine.
From 1954 until 1960 he was the
pastor o f the Dexter Avenue Baptist
Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
W h ile pastor at D exter Avenue,
King was elected president o f the
M ontgom ery Im provem ent Asso
ciation which organized a year long
boycott against segregated public
transportation in Montgomery. The
success o f this boycott catapulted
Dr. King into prominence in the civ
il rights struggles o f Black A m eri
cans.
In 1957 King organized what later
became the Souther Christian Lead
ership Conference and was elected
its President. The S C LC offices in
Atlanta, was the organizational base
for D r. King’s civil rights activities
after 1960, when he left M ontgom
ery, A labam a to jo in his father as
co-pastor o f Ebenezer Baptist
Church.
For a decade M artin Luther King
was w o rld -fam o u s as a leader o f
Black Americans in their struggle
against discrimination and race pre
judice. He was a principal leader of
the historic “ M arch On Washing
to n ” in 1963, and Tim e magazine
designated him " M a n o f the Year”
for 1963. In !964 he was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize— the young
est Peace Laureate in history.
A lo n g w ith this w o rld -fam o u s
leadership came threats on his life,
the bombing o f his home and gen
eral violence and hatred towards
h im . In the midst o f plans for a
“ Poor Peoples March On Washing
ton ” M artin Luther King Jr. made
the second o f two trips to Memphis,
Tennessee to support the garbage
collectors there who were on strike
for better wages and working condi
tions. W hile in Memphis on A p ril
4th, 1968 he was murdered by assas
sin James Earl Ray, who shot D r.
King with a high-powered rifle as he
stood on the balcony o f the L o r
raine Hotel talking with friends and
members o f his staff.
Empty buses w ait as Blacks in Montgomery walk rather than ride in segregated
busses.
The young Dr. Kinq studies Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence.
Early in 1957 sixty Black leaders founded the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and
elected Martin Luther King, Jr. President. He
was now a national figure and in May, with A.
Philip Randolph and Roy Wilkins, he organized
the Prayer Pilgrimage in Washington, D .C ., the
biggest civil rights demonstration by Blacks.
A bus ride a fte r the successful boycott
ended.
Car pools were an effective means of getting to work; many walked
"History has thrust upon our generation an indescribably important
destiny—to complete a process of democratization which our nation has too
long developed too slowly, but which is our most powerful weapon for world
respect and emulation."
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
S t JOlh e DIVISION
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SAN RAFAEL - 1S10 NE 122nd
ForaM ttrov. - 2 3 » PACIFIC
Oneon City - B7S MOI ALLA
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MILLSBORO SSO SE OAK
Portland Observer, January 21, 1982 Section II Pagi