Today we here at Cole Miners Music would like to take some time out to recognize one of America's most influential and dedicated leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, the middle child of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. Dr. King was raised in Atlanta and attended Booker T. Washington High School. A brilliant student, Dr. King skipped both the 9th and 12th grade and enrolled at Morehouse College at the age of just fifteen! He graduated from Morehouse College in 1948 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology, and shortly after he enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1951. Dr. King later married Coretta Scott on June 18, 1953 in her hometown of Heiberger, Alabama. They would later on become the parents of four children; Yolanda King, Martin Luther King III, Dexter Scott King, and Bernice King. Dr. King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1954 at just twenty-five years old. Dr. King would go on to complete his doctoral studies in systematic theology at Boston University and receive a Doctor of Philosophy on June 5, 1955. In 1959, Dr. King had the privilege of visiting India, birthplace of civil rights activist Mahatma Gandhi. This trip was said to inspire Dr. King and give him a firmer understanding of non-violent resistance. In his decorated career as a civil rights activist to follow, Dr. King was responsible for one of the most influential civil rights movements in history, the most notable event being the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. In 1964, Dr. King became the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience. Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day became recognized as a national holiday in 1986.
It is important that we all remember that this is not just a holiday celebrated by African Americans but a holiday that should be shared by all Americans. Dr. King was able to solve some of our country's most damaging civil rights issues in history and work in an aggressive but peaceful manner to spread his gospel of unity at a time where government and society itself were against freedom for all its citizens. We have overcome indeed. Now let's see what legacy we all can leave as individuals to honor this great visionary's sacrifice to our country and the world.
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