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Today marks MLK birthday

Born Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most iconic leaders in the Civil Rights Movement was born on this day in 1929.

From southern roots, King was born and raised in rural Georgia. Son of a Baptist minister, he was raised the middle child in a family with three children.

King excelled academically in his primary studies and initially entered college at Morehouse College at the age of 15. In 1948, King earned his sociology degree from Moorhouse College, he later graduated valedictorian in 1951 from Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, with a degree in seminary studies, and earned his PhD at the age of 25.

King married Coretta Scott in 1953, and in 1954 became pastor of the Dexter Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

On the night that Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give her seat to a white man on a bus, King met with the local NAACP chapter. The group planned the Montgomery Bus Boycott of which King was elected to lead.

Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his first speech among an audience gathered to initiate the Alabama Bus Boycott. His fervor for freedom and equality resonating throughout the community, a new revolutionary movement was formed. Disenfranchised residents joined forces to speak out against segregation and inequality, as the boycott lasted 382 days.

In 1957, King and others formed the Southern Christian Leadership conference, a group that led non-violent protests, meetings and events.

Following his Alabama arrest in 1963, excerpts from King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” were published in The New York Post Sunday Magazine, without King’s permission. The letter was written on the margins of a newspaper, the only paper King had access to in the county jail. The letter has been republished dozens of times, and is widely studied in Sociology classes until this day.

On August 28, 1963, King led a mass gathering at the Lincoln memorial in Washington D.C. The gathering is known as one of the most historic moments in civil rights history. It was during this demonstration that King delivered his “I Have a Dream Speech.”

The year following, King worked with congressional leaders, and in spite of the bills 60-day long filibuster, King and many others attended the official signing ceremony of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. King also received the Nobel Peace Prize that year.

Four years later, the morning following Kings delivery of the “I’ve Been to The Mountaintop” speech, on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, he was assassinated.

Feelings of devastation followed nationwide.

Posthumously, King was awarded esteemed recognitions by the President of the United States, and Congress as well. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Coretta King, in 1977. In 2004, both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal

The national observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day occurs on the 3rd Monday of every January. This year’s observance lands many area professional a day away from work. One way to observe this day for many may be clearing away Christmas decor, but for many, the day involves keeping the legend alive at home by educating ourselves and our children about the feats conquered by this revolutionary national leader who’s life work was abruptly cut short, but one short generation ago.

To celebrate King’s life and works, a local program will be held at 2 p.m. tomorrow in the BioScience and Health Services Building at Iowa Central Community College to celebrate the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr.

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