Martin Luther King, Jr.

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January 16, 2006
In celebration of. . .
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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January 15, 1929
Martin Luther King, Jr. (originally named
Michael King) is born in Atlanta, GA.
February 25, 1948
King is ordained and appointed associate pastor
to his father, the pastor at Ebenezer Baptist
Church.
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June 8, 1948
King graduates from Morehouse College with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology.
May 6-8, 1951
King graduates Crozer Theological Seminary with a
Bachelor of Divinity degree.
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June 22, 1952
While attending graduate school at Boston
University, King is initiated into the Alpha Phi
Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
June 18, 1953
King marries Miss Coretta Scott.
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October 31, 1954
King becomes the twentieth pastor at Dexter
Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL.
June 5, 1955
King receives his Ph.D. degree in Systematic
Theology from Boston University.
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December 5, 1955
Dr. King is elected President of the Montgomery
Improvement Association, the group formed to
coordinate the bus boycott.
February 14, 1957
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC) is formed Dr. King is named its first
president.
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February-March, 1959
Dr. and Mrs. King spend a month in India as
guests of Prime Minister Jawaharial Nehru,
studying Mohandas K. Gandhis techniques of
nonviolent resistance.
March-April, 1962
Dr. King is arrested during a demonstration in
Birmingham. On April 16, he writes his famous
Letter from the Birmingham Jail, in which he
describes the motivation and defends the need for
nonviolent, direct action.
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August 28, 1963
At the historic March on Washington, the first
large integrated protest march, Dr. King delivers
his famous I Have a Dream speech from the steps
of the Lincoln Memorial on the Mall in
Washington, D.C.
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September 15, 1963
The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in
Birmingham, Alabama is bombed, killing four young
girls and injuring many worshippers. Dr. King
delivers a eulogy for the girls.
July 2, 1964
Dr. King attends the signing of the Public
Accommodations Bill, a part of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
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August 25, 1964
Dr. King speaks at the Democratic National
Convention, where the Democratic Party refused to
seat members of the Mississippi Freedom
Democratic Party.
December 10, 1964
Dr. King accepts the Nobel Prize for Peace in
Oslo, Norway.
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February 9, 1965
Dr. King meets with President Johnson and other
leaders to discuss voting rights for
African-Americans.
March 21-25, 1965
More than three thousand march from Selma to
Montgomery under the protection of federal
troops. Along the way, their numbers increased
to twenty-five thousand. The march ends in
Montgomery, where Dr. King gives an address from
the steps of the state capitol.
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Spring 1966
To rally the support for the election of black
candidates, King makes a People to People tour
of the South.
May 16, 1966
Dr. King makes an anti-war statement at a Vietnam
War protest in Washington, D.C.
June 8-24, 1966
Dr. King, many civil rights leaders and
supporters continue James Merediths March
Against Fear after Meredith is shot.
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April 4, 1968
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated at
the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
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April 7-9, 1968
April 7, 1968, declared a day of mourning, is
marked by memorial events and religious services
across the country. A silent march is held in
Memphis, and on April 9, a funeral service at
Ebenezer Baptist Church and a funeral procession
takes place in Atlanta.
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(No Transcript)
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November 2, 1983
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday bill,
a measure proposed in every legislative session
from 1968 by Rep. John Conyers, is signed by
President Ronald Reagan, declaring Kings
birthday a national holiday. However, the first
legal holiday nationwide does not occur until
January 20, 1986.
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January 1984
George Sealey is catalyst for convening Alpha Phi
Alpha Fraternity brothers, Al Bailey, Oscar
Little, and Eddie Madison, to propose building a
national memorial to Dr. King. Their proposal is
presented at the Fraternitys Board of Directors
meeting, under the administration of General
President Milton Davis.
November 12, 1996
President Clinton signs Congressional legislation
proposing the establishment of a Memorial in the
District of Columbia to honor Dr. King.
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March 24, 1998
John Carter testifies before Senate subcommittee
which oversees memorials in Washington, D.C.
Excerpt We now have an opportunity to break
the trend of memorials to war and erect a
monument which delivers a message of lifelong
peace in our land. A memorial which embodies not
just the image of Dr. King, but the image of
America, which is often called the melting pot of
the world.
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May 28, 1998
Charter for the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther
King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation,
Inc. approved.
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
1929 - 1968