Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He was brought up in a tightly-knit family. His father was a Baptist minister and his mother taught music. King excelled in school. At 15 years old, he graduated high school and attended Morehouse College. While at Morehouse he decided that he wanted to become a minister.

King as a young minister became active in the civil rights movement. He became known as a great speaker and pivotal figure in civil rights activism. King chose non-violence as his weapon of choice to fight racism. In 1964 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Sadly, in 1968 he was assassinated while assisting in a workers strike in Memphis, Tennessee.