[dropcap]B[/dropcap]orn on the 15th of January 1929 and assassinated on the 4th of April, 1968, Martin Luther King was a humanitarian, an activist and a leader of the civil rights movement for African Americans. Martin was also a devout Christian and he employed non-violent methods of civil disobedience. He is known to have been one of the best orators in the history of America and he also received the Nobel Peace Prize for trying to combat racial inequality.
He had attracted a lot of national attention and was focused on fighting other societal issues such as poverty and wars. He was assassinated in Tennessee which was followed by riots in many major American cities. He has been conferred many awards posthumously including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and also the Congressional Gold Medal. His birthday is observed as a federal holiday. Hundreds of streets across the country, many memorial statues and even a county have been named after Martin Luther King.
King was born to a devout Christian family. His father would often whip him in order to instill some character in him. As they were a black family in a white nation, King as well as his family was often subject to a lot of racial discrimination and abuse. Most of his childhood and his adolescent years were spent in depression because of all the hate that he and his relatives had to face. While he was uncertain about some of the claims of Christianity, he went on to adopt many of the beliefs of the Bible and felt an inner urge to help the human race.
After graduating in sociology, King went on to pursue his doctorate studies. His peaceful methods and preaching appealed to many peoples, especially all the blacks who were facing racial discrimination. Soon, he garnered a lot of attention and followings and became involved in many movements concerning politics in the U.S. He was recognized to be a powerful orator and his speeches are famously quoted even today. Martin Luther King was assassinated at a young age, but in his short life, he proved to influence many major movements and is also an icon in world peace.
