Jan. 19, 2026 – Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a day to honor the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. who gave his life to ensure the promises made at the nation’s founding that all men were created equal were kept. Known as the Father of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. King believed in peacefully protesting inequalities to affect change.
Editor’s note: Portions of this story are from archived articles on Dr. King written and published since 2017.
Birth and Education
On Jan. 15, 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. The third Monday in January is always a federal holiday, officially called the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., to honor his birth and life. Informally, it’s widely known as MLK Day.
He became a minister and led the congregation at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta as co-pastor with his father. He completed his undergraduate education at Morehouse College where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology in 1948 and then in 1951, completed a Bachelor of Divinity degree at the Crozer Theological Seminary. He earned his doctorate (Ph.D.) in theology in 1955 from Boston University. 1955 was a very important year in Dr. King’s life.
Rosa Parks
A key turning point in Dr. King’s life and that of the Civil Rights Movement came in December 1955 when he went to Montgomery, Alabama, to support Rosa Parks to stand up to the injustices of segregation.
On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks defied an order from a bus driver to give her seat to a white passenger. She was sitting in the seats assigned to black Americans. Sure she was tired from her day at work but that was not the reason she remained seated. She was tired of the injustice and humiliation of being treated in such a manner.
During World War II (1939-1945), Rosa worked at the nearby Maxwell Field, an air force base. Once on the federal property, she rode integrated buses and experienced equal rights for the first time. But as she left the base to return home, she had to ride city buses, which were segregated. It made a lasting impression on her.
In addition to this injustice, she watched as her brother returned home from serving in the military during World War II when the United States and its Allies defeated Adolf Hitler and his diabolical plan to eradicate the Jews and others whom he deemed inferior. He violently suppressed his opponents and then had six million Jews murdered in concentration camps.
Yet when Rosa’s brother returned home, he continued to face humiliation and discrimination simply because of the color of his skin. It was infuriating. African Americans coined a slogan – Double Victory. They were fighting overseas for equality while also fighting for their own equality at home.
Rosa became a civil rights activist in her own quiet way. She worked to help people affected by racial inequality. She even attended a training class in Tennessee to learn how to peacefully affect change.
On Dec. 1, 1955, on that Montgomery city bus, it was her time to really take a stand by remaining seated.
After being arrested and released from jail, many people in the African American community came to her defense, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a preacher from Atlanta. They decided they would begin a bus boycott, a peaceful action that would have a major impact on the city since many people in the Black community rode the bus to and from work.
People helped people get to work by forming carpools. The boycott began on Dec. 5, 1955, and lasted for 380 days.
The action was successful. Combined with court rulings, the city of Montgomery could no longer segregate public transportation. Rosa became known as the mother of the modern civil rights movement.
King’s powerful oratory and skills at organizing the boycott propelled King into national prominence. He continued to fight for rights of African American middle class workers while establishing political connections to convince politicians the time had come for civil rights legislation.
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (Aug. 28, 1963)
On Aug. 28, 1963, after only three months of planning, more than 250,000 people attended the “March for Jobs and Freedom” in the nation’s capital. The march started at the Washington Monument and concluded at the Lincoln Memorial where a three-hour ceremony was held. King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
The conclusion of Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech is famous for his eloquent and passionate vision for which, among many other things, he had a dream “that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
While not quoted as often, the beginning of his speech jolts Americans to reflect on what the Founding Fathers clearly promised on July 4, 1776 when colonists from the 13 original colonies declared their independence from British rule.
The Founding Fathers opened the Declaration of Independence with the following words:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
In his speech, Dr. King said:
“In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our Republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men – yes, black men as well as white men – would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”
In his speech, King said he was calling in the promissory note issued when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. The Founding Fathers promised “liberty and justice for all” and stated that “all men are created equal.” Clearly, the nation had faltered in living up to that ideal. It was time to correct the injustices.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 finally began to correct the injustices. The Voting Rights Act was signed into law one year later. Yet the struggle continued.
King was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was supporting striking sanitation workers. His gave his life for the cause of civil rights. There is no better way to honor Dr. King today than living by his dream that one day people will be judged by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin, a portion of his famous speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial opened on the National Mall in 2011 not far from the Lincoln Memorial.
Related Links
Martin Luther King, Jr. – “I Have A Dream” speech – “I Have a Dream” speech
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial – Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (National Park Service).
