He was born on January 15 1929 to Reverend and Mrs. His parents first named him Michael, then after a while decided that they should call him Martin Luther King Jr. He had an older sister, Christine and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel who became known as simply A.D. .

             Martin Luther King Jr., lived a pretty happy, secure life as a child. His parents showed their children lots of love but they were also strict with them. They stressed pride, dignity and learning.

             Martin Sr., as I shall call him for short, believed that he was as good as any other man, black or white. He refused to lower his head when they were around white people and he wouldn't flinch and move out of the way when he passed white people on the street. His wife was afraid that his pride and dignity would get him into trouble but he believed that 'one should never fear to do what was right'. Due to this, Martin Jr. grew up with the words; "You are as good as anybody else" fixed into his head. .

             His father would take him to downtown Atlanta where the large community of whites dwelled. The white people treated the black people harshly and cruelly. He wanted to show him the real world and its evil ways. In those days there was a lot of discrimination against black people in all aspects of life. For example black people had to shop at the back of shops but Martin Luther King Sr. refused to do so. If a clerk reminded him that black people must shop at the back of the shop, he would tell him that the seats were just as comfortable and that the shoes were the same, so he did not see any reason why he should shop at the back? If the clerks insisted then he and his son would go shop somewhere else. All this was an important lesson for Martin Jr. It really emphasized living and practicing the message that his father was relaying which was that he was as good as anybody else.

             Martin Luther King Jr. was a smart boy. He started reading at a young age and he started school one year early.