Surprising facts about the civil rights icon

Experts say Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.’s fight against poverty is just as important today as during the US civil right movement.

These are 10 lesser-known facts about Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.

Improvised speech entitled “I have my dream”

Halfway through Martin’s 1963 speech, Mahalia Jackson, a gospel singer, shouted: “Tell them all about the dream, Martin!”

King used the call-out to refer to a sermon that he had just delivered. In it, he described an American Dream that was equally accessible to all.

“I have a dream that my children and I will one day live in an era where the content of our character will matter more than the color of our skin,” Dr. King stated. Dr King shared his dream.

This iconic moment would become known later as the “I Have a Dream” speech. Lerone Martin said that Dr King’s dream for equality is not yet realized.

Lerone Martin, director at Stanford University’s Martin Luther King Jr Research and Education Institute, stated that his dream of equality was quintessentially American.

“Despite all the criticism King received, King did a remarkable job of showing how his efforts were aligned with American ideals.”

Michael King was his birth name

King was born on 15th January 1929. He was named after Michael King, his father. King was born on 15 January 1929. His father, Michael King, visited Germany six years later and discovered about Martin Luther. Luther is the leader of Protestant reformation.

According to legend, he was so inspired, he went home and changed his name to Martin Luther King.

King was inspired to be a preacher at college.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was inaugurated in 1944. admitted to Morehouse College The King family was 15 years old. The college was a prestigious, all-male historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. It has been the home of generations of King families.

According to the King InstituteAccording to some, the future civil right leader was an “ordinary” student. But, Morehouse helped to awaken his passion for social equality and instilled him into a preacher.

He was arrested over 25 times

According to King, 30 arrests were made during his 13-year tenure as a civil right leader. These were mostly for civil protest violations and misdemeanours. the King Center. King, despite being a frequent target of law enforcement officers, did not enjoy being imprisoned.

After a sit in at an Atlanta department store, he got arrested in October 1960 and was taken into Georgia State Prison. He was wrote to his wifeCoretta released Coretta from jail, saying that he hoped “excessive suffer that is now coming to us family will in some small way serve to Atlanta a Better City, Georgia a Better State, and America A Better Country.”

He wrote five books

King Center reports that King wrote five books during his life and published many collections of his sermons and letters.

His 1964 book Why We Can’t Wait outlined the events that led the historic campaign in Birmingham, Alabama to end segregation.

He was a Trekkie

Nichelle Nichols, the original Lt Nyota Ahura in Star Trek, was once introduced as Nichelle to Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Nichols, who claims to be her greatest fan. Nichols had resigned days before they met at an award ceremony from her groundbreaking role on Star Trek. When she revealed to King that she intended to leave the show she told him. Television Academy FoundationKing insisted that she would not give up her iconic role.

“He said, ‘For the first time on television we will be seen as we should be seen every day, as intelligent, quality, beautiful people… who can go into space,'” Nichols recalled. I just stood there, realizing that every word he said was true. The world was tilted in my favor at that moment. She would remain in that role for many more years.

He was able to survive previous assassinations

King was approached by a woman with mental illness in September 1958 as he signed copies for Stride Toward Freedom in Harlem. Before stabbing King with seven-inch knives, the woman verified that King was in fact King.

Doctors stated that he was in good health at the time. sneeze away The King Institute said that the knife was very close to his heart and could have caused him to die. The King Institute learned that the woman was mentally ill. King said: “I bear not bitterness towards her” and instead called to have her treated.

King’s mother Alberta was also assassinated

A 23-year old man shot King’s mother Alberta Williams King while she was playing her organ at Ebenezer Baptist church on June 30, 1974, six years following King’s assassination.

The King family was able to re-sentence the shooter to life imprisonment after he was found guilty. opposition to the death penalty.

Julia Roberts was born to the King family

Gayle King speaks with us about the interview. recently went viralJulia Roberts, the actress, confirmed a little-known fact about her birth day.

She stated that “the King family paid for me hospital bills” and added that Roberts’ and King’s families became close when King’s kids were brought into their Atlanta acting school.

King and Coretta were there to help us get out of our jam later, after Julia was born.

He was only 39 at the time he was shot and killed.

Dr King was just 39 years old at the time of his assassination on April 4, 1968. He was in public for less than 13 years, fighting for civil rights and racial equity.

According to the King Center, he was able in such a short time to bring about a change. more progress towards racial equality In the United States, than in the previous 350-years.