The Man Who Changed Today's Society: Martin Luther King Jr

Martin Luther King Jr was born on this date 1/15 in 1929, he was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement. He was a Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington on the steps of Lincoln Memorial, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. It was there, he expanded American values to include the vision of a color blind society, and established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history. if it wasn't for him I, as a white person, may not have the friends that I do today, and for that I am grateful!

Things that MLK witnessed were, Jackie Robinson becoming the very first African American baseball player on April 10th, 1947, for the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Larry Doby joined the Cleveland Indians July 6th, 1947.  Don Barksdale was the first All-American in NCAA basketball with UCLA.  Charles (Chuck) Cooper became the first African American to be signed to the NBA in 1950 with the New York Knicks.  In 1966 the University of Texas Western (UTEP) featured a starting line-up consisting of all African Americans, who beat my beloved Kentucky Wildcats in the National Championship game. 

Martin Luther King Jr had some very inspirational quotes.  Here he says:

"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."

With this quote he encourages everyone, to do what ever it takes to keep pressing on in life. Another Quote of his was:

"As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation, either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course."

MLK basically said to take every negative and find a positive, no matter what and you will be successful. 

We all need to thank MLK for the society that we live in, no matter what shape, color mental status or gender we may be.  If we can see our fellow brother and not want to start trouble with him and and use reason the world will be just like MLK would have "Dreamed."

Please leave a comment on how MLK has inspired you!