Early Years

Martin Luther King Jr. had an interesting childhood. He was born on January 5 1929.  He was born in Atlanta Georgia. Martin Luther King Junior's original name was Michael, he then changed to Martin because of the protestant leader Martin Luther. He had an older sister, Willie Christine, and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King. He tried committing suicide when he was 12 because his grandmother, Jennie died of a heart attack. He attended Booker T. Washington High School, and then went to Morehouse College at the age of 15. He was a very hard worker.

Conflicts

Being African American during his time was very harsh. King’s parents tried to keep him from racism, but they couldn’t keep him from everything. He attempted suicide because his grandmother died. Luckily, he didn’t succeed. He got involved with a white woman and it took a lot of emotional strength to break off the affair. King didn’t feel very comfortable practicing religion seriously, so he didn’t join the ministry. He lived in a time where blacks were violently abused by the white people. King learned that people shouldn’t be treated badly by their race or the way they look.

Advocacy

He became very involved with his advocacy. Martin Luther King Jr. was chosen to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He said, "We have no alternative but to protest. For many years we have shown amazing patience. We have sometimes given our white brothers the feeling that we liked the way we were being treated. But we come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice." The quote is what he said at his first speech as the group’s president. The bus boycott lasted 382 days, and Martin’s house was attacked as well as the head of the NAACP, E.D. Nixon. King participated in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. King played an important role in all of the protests.