Did You Know Martin Luther King Jr. Was Not His Birth Name?
Today (1/15) we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The slain civil rights leader would have been 95 this year. The work he did to…
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is seen on Martin Luther King Day, January 21, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)
Photo by Al Drago/Getty ImagesToday (1/15) we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The slain civil rights leader would have been 95 this year. The work he did to help the oppressed victims of discrimination in our country has been well documented. However, here's something you might not know about the late Dr. King: Martin Luther was not his birth name.
According to the Boston Herald, the man we know as Martin Luther King Jr. was actually born Michael King Jr. on January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. That's where his father, Michael King Sr., served as a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church. You can still visit the church to this day.
In 1934, when young MLK was just five years old, Michael Sr. traveled to Germany on a church trip. There, he was inspired by the great Protestant Reformation leader, Martin Luther. Upon returning home, King Sr. changed both his and his son's names to Martin Luther King.
Speaking of MLK, have you seen the film Rustin on Netflix? My wife and I watched it earlier this month and we're still talking about it. The film tells the story of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, who organized the March on Washington in 1963 despite difficult odds. Over 200,000 people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where they heard Dr. King give his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. Starring Colman Domingo and Chris Rock, Rustin is a fascinating look at a peak moment of the civil rights movement.
10 Of Martin Luther King’s Most Powerful Quotes
Here are 10 Martin Luther King Quotes that we all could use right now.
10 Of Martin Luther King's Most Powerful Quotes
(Photo by Frank Rockstroh/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)"Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope."
10 Of Martin Luther King's Most Powerful Quotes
.(Photo by Reg Lancaster/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)"There comes a time when people get tired of being pushed out of the glittering sunlight of life’s July and left standing amid the piercing chill of an alpine November."
10 Of Martin Luther King's Most Powerful Quotes
(Photo by Roger Jackson/Central Press/Getty Images)"A riot is the language of the unheard."
10 Of Martin Luther King's Most Powerful Quotes
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
10 Of Martin Luther King's Most Powerful Quotes
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
10 Of Martin Luther King's Most Powerful Quotes
(Photo by Todd Bennett/Getty Images)"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
10 Of Martin Luther King's Most Powerful Quotes
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
10 Of Martin Luther King's Most Powerful Quotes
(Photo by MICHAEL REYNOLDS-Pool/Getty Images)Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
10 Of Martin Luther King's Most Powerful Quotes
(Photo by William Lovelace/Getty Images)"Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty we are free at last."
10 Of Martin Luther King's Most Powerful Quotes
(Photo by Jeff Kamen/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
