Happy Martin Luther King Day! You'd never believe what happened today. I LEFT MY NEW SIGNATURE AT MY SISTER'S HOUSE AN HOUR AWAY! Yep, so my morning pep talk to myself about being brave and painting MLK's portrait vs taking the easy road and just painting the words, "I have a dream", was essentially a pep talk to brave icy roads and travel to get my blank signature I needed in order to do my Daily Doodle. And even with the long day and traveling and submitting my artwork to the Josephy Exhibit, I was still brave enough to paint a portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Did you know Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the only non-president to get a national holiday? He has streets and monuments in his honor, and though he only lead the modern American civil rights movement for less than 13 years, the impact he made will last several lifetimes.
Martin was born Michael Luther King Jr. on January 15, 1929, but later changed his name to Martin. Martin Luther King Jr. attended segregated public school and graduated at the age of 15 and he received a B. A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College and was awarded his B.D from Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania in 1951. He had received a fellowship from Crozer and enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving his degree in 1955 at the age of 25. While in Boston he met and married Coretta Scott. They had two sons and two daughters.
King was always a strong worker for civil rights and was a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of its kind in the nation. In 1955 he accepted the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the "bus boycott". The boycott lasted 382 days. On November 13, 1956 the Supreme Court of the United States declared the laws requiring segregation on buses unconstitutional. During the boycott King was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse, but at the same time he emerged as a leader.
Between 1957 and 1968, Dr. King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times. He also wrote five books as well as numerous articles. He led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama that caught the attention of the world. This inspired his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, one of his most famous works. At the age of 34, he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C. 250,000 people marched and this is where he delivered his, “l Have a Dream” speech.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963 (also at the age of 34). The following year, at the age of 35, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the youngest man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. His acceptance speech in Oslo is thought by many to be among the most powerful remarks ever delivered at the event. This is where he said, “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.” He turned over his $54,123 in prize money to further the civil rights movement. Also in 1964 Congress passed the landmark Civil Rights Act, essentially eliminating legalized racial segregation in the United States.
On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, he was assassinated. His funeral was held in his hometown in Georgia and was attended by several high ranking officials. His works are studied in schools around the country, and his messages still inspire people around the world.
