There was so much to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. than just the history-changing man who earned his own nationally recognized holiday. He accomplished much in his life, so it’s time to educate yourself with some deeper facts about the man behind the image that we all know.
As you likely already know, religion played a major role in King’s life and views. Both he and his father were Baptist pastors at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he was also baptized. But beyond his own belief system influencing his life, his greatest inspiration was fellow religious activist Gandhi. MLK even traveled to India in 1959 to learn about Gandhi’s methods.
In terms of awards that King received, the man earned the Nobel Peace Prize when he was only 35 years old, which was four years before he died. He was the youngest male to ever win the honor. But he didn’t stop there. He picked up a Grammy in 2000 as well… 32 years after his death. The audiobook for his autobiography performed by Levar Burton won “Best Spoken Word Album.”
MLK is also the only natural-born U.S. citizen to have his own national holiday. George Washington has his day, and while he was born in Virginia, it was technically a British colony at the time.
Here’s to Dr. King, a remarkable civil rights leader and one of the greatest Americans who ever lived.