The Education Story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

To all who is reading this,

For the past 23 hours, today has been Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Day, the day celebrating the legacy of the Pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement, the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. While teenagers and government workers, unfortunately, seized those 23 hours to enjoy a day off or a clothing sale, I used this day to reflect on Mr. King's history itself. I hate to admit this, but I know little to nothing about this man.

I know a snippit of his life's story: that he was placed in jail numerous times for protesting for Civil Rights; how he was a great father and husband; that his "I Have a Dream Speech" was actually improvised and that his life was in constant danger due to his speaking out against segregation. However, I find that not knowing enough is unacceptable, so I decide to do research.

Thank you, Internet.

I find all kinds of websites and I hit page after page and, out of all of what I find, what fascinates me the most is his profound love for education. His thirst for knowledge started at the age of five at Youge School, a segregated school in Atlanta, Georgia. Due to the legal age to attend school being six, however, Mr. King was not allowed to pursue his education until a year later. After this school, he attended David T. Howard Elementary School; he was later enrolled in the Atlanta University Laboratory School and Booker T. Washington High School. In the meantime, the then high school student graduated at the age of 15 because of his impressive scores on the college entrance exams. So he was able to attend Morehouse College while still a teen. It was here where he received his Bachelors in Sociology in 1948.

After three years of studying Theology at the Crozer Theological Seminary, he graduated with a Bachelors in Divinity in 1951. Mr. King then went on to study Systematic Theology at Boston University within that same year while attending Harvard. His dissertation, "A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wiemen," earned him his PhD in 1955.

Throughout the years, Mr. King has earned many honorary degrees in both the U.S. and overseas such as the Doctor of Humane Letters at Morehouse College and the Doctor of Divinity at Chicago Theological Seminary. And he went on to become a pastor in Birmingham, Alabama where he created Civil Rights history as we know it.

I'm telling you all this to prove that his personal experiences and his love for learning armed Mr. King with the compassion he expressed on the streets in the South, from the pulpit and in Washington, DC. With wisdom and intellectualism, he taught all who allowed themselves to hear the message that EVERYONE deserves to be treated with the upmost respect and dignity, no matter what color they were born with or what roof they were raised under. But it goes even deeper and further than that. He taught African-Americans of that time period that they were capable of gaining that same form of education. That they were not born with smaller brains than that of their Caucasian counterparts nor were they savages, but human beings who were just as good, important and capable as everyone else. With education, there's imagination. And with that is a power that is meant to be feared by those who don't know better.

With that being said, Martin Luther King, Jr Day is more than just a day for me now. This day is a reminder of the man who saved the lives and freedom of many African-Americans. I'm not saying this to deify him, but I give credit when credit's due. If it were not for him and many others (African-Americans and Caucasian), I would be harassed and arrested for going to certain parts of town. My rights as a citizen would be violated and my friends would catch the "Jungle Fever" label before getting their asses kicked. African-American men would be killed for even looking at a Caucasian woman and their female counterparts would still be working as maids. Most of all however, African-Americans would not be granted the same educational opportunities as our counterparts. Which means that I would not be attending college pursuing my dreams to become a sex therapist and Unitarian Universalist minister. And I can't have that.

So for everything, Mr. King, I say thank you. Thank you. And thank you.

And that's enough from the Unknown Planet.