Martin Luther King Jnr. was born on 15 January 1929. His father, 'Daddy' King, was the pastor at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. King took his duties beyond serving his church, and was involved with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. This was probably the influential thing in king's (jnr.) early life that later made him accomplish what he did.
             King first met racism at the age of six, when a white friend's father said that they could no longer play together because King was 'coloured'. His own parents explained about slavery and also made an important point: 'Don't let it make you feel you are not as good as white people.
             King's progress through school was fast. At 15' he went to Morehouse College, a theological college in Connecticut. Here, he expressed doubt about the value of religion, but was eventually convinced of its relevance to the civil-rights struggle. At 19 he was ordained. With a degree in sociology he went to Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, to study for a degree in divinity He came top of his class and graduated in 1951. He went on to study for a doctorate in systematic theology at Boston University.
             After completing his studies, King felt that he should return home. Accompanied by his new wife, Coretta, he began work at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery Alabama. The church was attended mainly by the educated black middle class. Once installed, he set about organizing his congregation. His interest in the community and his effective oratory made him a popular and respected figure.
             Montgomery, in the Southern heartland, had strict segregation laws; for example, rules about what black passengers could and could not do on buses. Resentment at these rules ran high. On 1 December 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white and was taken to jail. On 5 December the local black ministers met to discuss...