Early Days
This is the city where Martin Luther King Jr. was born.
What is Atlanta, Georgia? King was born on January 15, 1929. He was the son of a Baptist minister.
Upon graduating from college, Martin fulfilled his family legacy by doing this.
What is become a minister? He attended Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, from 1948 to 1951.
This is the missing last word of the quote “The time is always right to do what is ____.”
What is “right”? This quote was included in the speech delivered by King at the 1965 commencement address at Oberlin College.
This woman, who refused to give up her seat on the bus, is known as the “Mother of the modern-day Civil Rights Movement.”
Who is Rosa Parks? On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, 45-year-old Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. She was arrested. Her action resulted in the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), led by Martin Luther King Jr., boycotting the Montgomery bus system. The boycott lasted 381 days, culminating in the ruling by the Supreme Court on November 14, 1956, that segregated seating was unconstitutional.
This president signed the law on November 2, 1983, creating the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday. It is observed on the third Monday in January each year.
Who is Ronald Reagan? The holiday was first observed on January 20, 1986.
This woman worked tirelessly to maintain the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Who is Coretta Scott King? The wife of King and mother of his four children dedicated her life to being a voice of peace. Among other things, she was instrumental in the establishment of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday and founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.
This is the name given to Martin upon his birth.
What is Michael King Jr.? He was named after his father, Michael. When his son was five years old, Michael Sr. traveled to Germany and learned about Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant Reformation. Upon his return home, he changed his own name and that of his son to Martin Luther King.
This is the name of the university where King earned his doctorate degree in systematic theology.
What is Boston University? He completed his dissertation in April 1955 and received his PhD and officially graduated that June.
This is the missing last word of the quote “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that ____.”
What is “matter”? This quote was included in the speech delivered by King in 1967 at the Riverside Church in New York City.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed by this president on July 2, 1964.
Who is Lyndon Baines Johnson? King and other civil rights activists were witnesses to the signing of the Civil Rights Act into law by Johnson. The legislation had been initiated by President John. F. Kennedy prior to his assassination.
This is the place where the first sit-in protest occurred.
What is the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina? On February 1, 1960, four African American college students sat at the “whites only” Woolworth’s counter. They were refused service and asked to leave, but they remained seated until closing time. A six-month-long protest followed, and on July 25, 1960, Woolworth’s lunch counters were desegregated.
Of his titles of doctor and reverend, this one comes first when specifying his full name with qualifications.
What is reverend? It is standard with academic and religious titles to list the most senior or important title first. In King’s case, reverend was the more senior title, followed by that of doctor for his PhD. The proper form for his name is the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This is how many siblings Martin had.
What is two? He had a brother named Alfred Daniel (A. D.) and a sister named Christine. A. D. was active in the Civil Rights Movement, and Christine was a writer and teacher.
It was while King was pursuing his doctoral degree that he met this woman, who would become his wife.
Who is Coretta Scott? She was a student at the New England Conservatory of Music while he was a student at Boston University. They were introduced by a mutual friend and married in 1953. They spent their wedding night in the funeral home owned by a friend, as honeymoon suites were unavailable to African Americans at the time.
This is the missing last word of the quote “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite ____.”
What is “hope”? This quote was included in a February 1968 address in Washington, D.C., delivered by King two months before he was assassinated.
This is the name that would be given to the peaceful demonstration held in Alabama on March 7, 1965, that turned violent.
What is “Bloody Sunday”? The march, led by John Lewis and Reverend Hosea Williams, began in Selma, Alabama, and was to end in Montgomery. The peaceful protestors were blocked by state and local police dispatched by Governor George Wallace, a vocal opponent of desegregation, and ordered to stop. They refused and were beaten with clubs and tear-gassed. King persisted in advocating for the continuation of nonviolent protests and ultimately gained federal protection for future marches.
This is when and where King was assassinated.
What is April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee? He was there to lead a march in support of striking sanitation workers. King was standing on the balcony of his motel room when the fatal shot was fired. James Earl Ray, an escaped prisoner, was convicted of the shooting.
This historical act passed in 1965 was heavily influenced by the peaceful marches King led in Selma, Alabama.
What is the Voting Rights Act of 1965? This act ensured no federal, state, or local government could in any way impede Americans from voting because of their race or ethnicity. Selma, Alabama, had a history of using violence to prevent African Americans from voting. Soon after King led marches highlighting the voting issue, President Johnson sent a bill to Congress to remove race-based restrictions on voting.
This was the age of Martin Luther King Jr. when he was admitted to Morehouse College.
What is 15? After skipping two grades, Martin was admitted to Morehouse College in Atlanta in 1944 at the age of 15. He graduated in 1948 at the age of 19 with a B.A. in sociology.
King made his first of many public speeches at this young age.
What is 15? King won an essay contest sponsored by the Colored Elks Clubs of Georgia. During their state convention held at the First Baptist Church in Dublin, Georgia, young Martin gave a speech titled “The Negro and the Constitution.” King recalls it as his first public speech and the start of what would be the next 24 years of his life fighting for the constitutional rights of the people of his race.
These are the missing three words at the end of the quote “We must live together as brothers or perish ____ ____ ____.”
What is “together as fools”? This quote was included in the March 22, 1964, speech delivered in St. Louis, Missouri.
This march, held on August 28, 1963, is considered by many to be the most famous march of the Civil Rights Movement.
What is the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom? Attended by approximately a quarter of a million people, it was the largest gathering of its time. It took place in the National Mall at the Lincoln Memorial. It is where King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. The National Mall is a landscaped park in the heart of the nation’s capital that serves as a gathering place.
On September 20, 1958, during a book signing, this event occurred.
What was an assassination attempt on King? A mentally ill woman stabbed King in the chest with a letter opener during a book signing. The blade lodged within a fraction of an inch of his aorta. He was told by his physicians that if he had sneezed, he would have died.
This career path heavily influenced King’s powerful public speaking skills that are so much a part of his legacy.
What is a Baptist minister? Along with his powerful words, his delivery style was characterized by rhythmic cadences, repetition, changes in tone, pauses, and passionate inflections. All these styles are reminiscent of the African American preaching tradition. King frequently used emotionally moving metaphors to help create vivid imagery.
This is the name of the church where Martin’s father was pastor.
What is Ebenezer Baptist Church? Martin came from a long line of preachers, including his father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, and brother.
This is widely regarded as the most famous of King’s speeches.
What is the “I Have a Dream” speech? On August 28, 1963, King delivered what would become known as the “I Have a Dream” speech. He spoke to an estimated 250,000 people who had come to Washington, D.C., to march for civil rights.
These are the missing three words at the end of the quote “If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for then he isn’t ____ ____ ____.”
What is “fit to live”? This quote was included in the June 23, 1963, speech in Detroit at a rally known as the Great March on Detroit.
This is how many times King was arrested and went to jail for peacefully protesting during the Civil Rights Movement.
What is 29 times? According to the King Center, he went to jail 29 times for civil disobedience. While in the Birmingham, Alabama, jail after being arrested for leading a peaceful march, he wrote his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In it he explains why the Civil Rights Movement is essential and peaceful protests are necessary.
King was awarded this prize on December 10, 1964.
What is the Nobel Peace Prize? He was 35 years old at the time, and for several years remained the youngest person to win the prize.
This is where the national Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is located.
What is the National Mall in Washington, D.C.? Located along Independence Avenue SW near the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, it is the first memorial to honor an African American person on the National Mall. After more than two decades of planning, fundraising, and construction, it opened to the public on August 22, 2011.
While in college, Martin read the teachings of this author and was first introduced to the theory of nonviolent resistance.
Who is Henry David Thoreau? The teachings of Thoreau, an American essayist, poet, and philosopher, came alive through King during the Civil Rights Movement. Thoreau’s essay “On Civil Disobedience” was of particular interest to King.
This woman prompted King to include the telling of his dream in his speech.
Who is Mahalia Jackson? King was in the middle of his speech when he heard gospel singer Jackson call out, “Tell them about the dream, Martin! Tell them about the dream.” He paused, pushed his prepared speech to the side, looked at the audience, and uttered the immortal words, “I have a dream...”
These are the missing eight words in the quote “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the ____ ____ ____ ____ but by the ____ ____ ____ ____.”
What is “color of their skin” and “content of their character”? This quote was part of the famous “I Have a Dream” speech given by King at the 1963 March on Washington.
Along with the marches, speeches, and protests, this art form played an important role in supporting and defining the Civil Rights Movement.
What is music? African American spirituals, gospel, and folk music all played an important role in the Civil Rights Movement. King stated, “The freedom songs are playing a strong and vital role in our struggle.” And John Lewis added, “If it hadn’t been for music, the Civil Rights Movement would’ve been like a bird without wings.” One of the most powerful songs of the movement, and one that became its unofficial anthem, was “We Shall Overcome.”
This is the name of the speech King delivered the day before he was assassinated.
What is “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”? On April 3, 1968, King delivered this speech to the striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. His speech included the words, “Well, I don’t know what will happen now; we’ve some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life—longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.”
An important part of his legacy, these are the names of King’s four children.
Who are Yolanda, Dexter, Bernice, and Martin Luther King III? King passed on to them his passion for social justice, and all four committed their lives to activism. Yolanda died in 2007 at the age of 51.