This month we remember and honor the legacy of Dr. King
Jan. 11, 2020 PLYMOUTH VOICE.
Eight Facts about Martin Luther King Jr., born 90 years ago
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- He was born Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929.
- King entered college at the age of 15. He skipped grades 9 and 12 before enrolling at Morehouse College in 1944, the alma matter of his father and maternal grandfather.
- Although he was the son, grandson, and great-grandson of Baptist ministers, he was considering becoming a doctor or lawyer instead. He later decided that the Bible had “many profound truths which one cannot escape,” and entered the Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, graduating with his PhD a the age of 25.
- He received a “C” in public speaking during his first year at seminary, but by his final year King was receiving straight “A’s and had become the valedictorian of his class.
- When King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, at age 35, he was the youngest person to do so. Malala Yousafzai now holds the record, winning the 2014 prize at age 17.
- He was jailed 29 times, often on such trumped up charges as driving 30 miles per hour in a 25-mile zone, in Alabama in 1956.
- In a speech on April 3, 1968, he told the audience, “I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.” He was assassinated the next day.
- He is the only person born in the United States whose birthday is a federal holiday. (George Washing was born before the United States came to be.) In 1983, President Ronald Regan signed a bill that names the third Monday in January as the holiday observance, “Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday.”
Plymouth Voice.
