PHOTO COURTESY OF COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG VIA CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

Originally published January 24, 2023

Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist who believed in a world where people of color didn’t face discrimination because of the color of their skin.

During the 1950’s and the 1960’s, King led many peaceful protests and was one of the main leaders of the civil rights movement. King has greatly affected the world and even MBMS, slowly but surely increasing the diversity since the Civil Rights Movement.

“I started [working at MBMS] in 1999, and I would say there were probably four or five, at most, people of color in my class,” social studies teacher Mrs. Carnahan said. “Now, majority of my students are multi-racial.”

On January 15, 1929, in Atlanta Georgia, Martin Luther King Jr. was born into a family of pastors at Ebenezer Baptist Church. From 1960 until his death, King served as co-pastor. King would excel in his academic career, being deemed a highly intelligent individual.

“Martin Luther attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen; he received the B.A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated,” nobleprize.org said. “After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class…”

Later on in his life, King would hold peaceful protests, and in August of 1963, King delivered his famous “I have a Dream” speech to 250,000 people at Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

“The speech and march cemented King’s reputation at home and abroad; later that year he was named 'Man of the Year' by TIME magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,” history.com said.

Because of what King stood for, he became a target for white supremacists. He was arrested 29 times, for what then was considered a crime, harassed, and assaulted on multiple occasions. On April 4, 1968, King was shot on a balcony of a motel in Memphis, Tennessee, leading to his unfortunate death.

“In the wake of his death, a wave of riots swept major cities across the country, while President Johnson declared a national day of mourning,” history.com said.

Since King’s passing, he has affected the lives of millions. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was signed, legally ending segregation in the United States. Eighth-grader Hyein Park explains how King has inspired her.

“...Martin Luther King making such a big difference in the world by his speeches, protests, and the messages that he put out is why I’m hopeful that I will be able to influence society the way he does, at least in some shape or form, even if it’s not as big or as powerful,” Park said.

Park also mentions how the diversity at MBMS has positively affected her.

“[The diversity as MBMS] is really comforting because it just makes you feel more safe and I feel like if there was no diversity at MBMS, I would feel really out of place and it would probably affect the way people perceive me as well,” Park said.

Seventh-grade counselor, Mr. Vaughns explains the importance of diversity at school.

“I think it’s very important that we know, see, and spend time with people who come from different backgrounds and have different stories,” Mr. Vaughns said. “It makes us more open-minded; we can learn things from each other and we can learn how to be kind to one another.”