was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents, Martin and Alberta King, were wonderful parents who raised Martin Jr. in a middle class, religious home. Martin Luther King, Sr. was a minister and Alberta was the daughter of an affluent minister. Martin was protected as much as possible from racism by his parents and they instilled in him a sense of self-respect and equality. Martin Luther King, Sr. was a strong, self- confident man who feared no one. He was a sharecropper's son who had experienced brutalities firsthand. His early experiences made him determined to get an education and he worked to put himself through Morehouse College. Martin Sr. became the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta which gave him great influence among the black community and even some respect from the white community. He led the fight in Atlanta to equalize teachers' salaries and to eliminate "Jim Crow" elevators in the courthouse giving young Martin a strong role model in his future fight for civil rights. .

             As a young person, Martin Luther King, Jr., was always the most intelligent person in his classes. He was so smart that he got accepted to Morehouse Collage when he was only 15 years old. He graduated from collage at the top of his class. He was always being asked to speak at church which his dad loved since he always wanted his son to become a minister. He moved on to Boston Collage where he got his Ph.D. in 1955 and met his future wife, Coretta Scott. While he was in the north, he learned and liked the new liberal ideas of the time. His father didn't approve of the liberal ideas he was learning. Once Martin finished collage he married and had four children with Coretta Scott.

             With his wife at his side, and wanting to settle down and live a normal peaceful life, they moved to Montgomery, Alabama. Martin took a job as minister at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. At this time Martin had no intention of starting an equal rights movement.