Martin Luther King, Sr.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Martin Luther King, Sr. | |
| Born | December 19, 1899 Stockbridge, Georgia, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Died | November 11, 1984 (aged 84) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Religious Minister |
| Spouse | Alberta Williams King |
| Children | Martin Luther King, Jr. Willie Christine Albert Daniel King |
| Parents | James "Jim" King and Delia Linsey King |
Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. (December 19, 1899 – November 11, 1984) was a Baptist minister, an early civil rights leader and an advocate for social justice. He was born as Michael King also the father of American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., who was born in 1929. The elder King (also known as 'Daddy King') led the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. King Sr. was also a significant leader of the civil rights movement, becoming the head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter in Atlanta and of the Civic and Political League, and encouraging his son to become active in the movement.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Born Michael King[1] on December 19, 1899 in Stockbridge, Georgia. His father was James (Jim) King (1864–1933) and his mother was Delia Linsey King (1875–1924).[2] Michael was the eldest son of nine children[3] and the family lived as sharecroppers.
King was a member of the Floyd Chapel Baptist Church and decided to become a preacher after being inspired by ministers who were prepared to stand up for racial equality. He left Stockbridge for Atlanta, where his sister Woodie was boarding with A.D. Williams, then head of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. After King started courting Williams' daughter, Alberta, her family encouraged him to finish his education and to become a preacher. King completed his high school education at Bryant Preparatory School, and began to preach in several black churches in Atlanta.
In 1926, King started his ministerial degree at the Morehouse School of Religion. On Thanksgiving Day in 1926, after eight years of courtship, he married Alberta in the Ebenezer Church. The couple had three children in four years: a daughter, Willie Christine (1927–), Martin Luther, Jr. (1929–1968), and a second son, Alfred Daniel (1930–1969).
King Sr. became leader of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in March 1931 after the death of Williams. With the country in the midst of the Great Depression, church finances were struggling, but King organised membership and fundraising drives that restored these to health. By 1934, King had become a widely respected leader of the local church and had changed his name from Michael King to Martin Luther King.
King was the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church for four decades, wielding great influence in the black community and earning some degree of respect from the white community. He also broadcast on WAEC, a religious radio station in Atlanta.
In his 1950 essay An Autobiography of Religious Development, King Jr. wrote that his father was a major influence on his entering the ministry.' 'I guess the influence of my father also had a great deal to do with my going in the ministry. This is not to say that he ever spoke to me in terms of being a minister, but that my admiration for him was the great moving factor; He set forth a noble example that I didn't mind following.
In his autobiography, King Jr. remembered his father's leaving a shoe shop because he and his son were asked to change seats: "This was the first time I had seen Dad so furious. That experience revealed to me at a very early age that my father had not adjusted to the system, and he played a great part in shaping my conscience. I still remember walking down the street beside him as he muttered, 'I don't care how long I have to live with this system, I will never accept it.'[4]
Another story related by Martin Luther King, Jr. was that once the car his father was driving was stopped by a police officer, and the officer addressed the senior King as 'boy'. King pointed to his son, saying "This is a boy, I'm a man; until you call me one, I will not listen to you."
King Jr. became an associate pastor at Ebenezer in 1948, and his father wrote a letter of recommendation for him to Crozier College. Despite theological differences, father and son would later serve together as joint pastors at the church.
King Sr. was a major figure in the civil rights movement in Georgia, where he rose to become the head of the NAACP in Atlanta and the Civic and Political League. He led the fight for equal teachers' salaries in Atlanta. He also played an instrumental role in ending Jim Crow laws in the state. King Sr. had refused to ride on Atlanta's bus system since the 1920s after a vicious attack on black passengers with no action against those responsible. King Sr. stressed the need for an educated, politically active black ministry.
In October 1960, when Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested at a peaceful sit-in in Atlanta, Robert Kennedy telephoned the judge and helped secure King's release. Although King, Sr. had previously opposed Kennedy because he was a Catholic, he expressed his appreciation for these calls and switched his support to Kennedy. King, Sr. had been a lifelong registered Republican, and had endorsed Republican Richard Nixon. King, Jr. made no endorsement,
After Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death in 1968, King Sr. continued to serve as pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church until 1975. His wife Alberta was murdered in June 1974.
In 1969, King Sr. was one of several members of the Morehouse College board of trustees held hostage on the campus by a group of students demanding reform in the school’s curriculum and governance. One of the students was Samuel L. Jackson, who was suspended for his actions. Later Jackson became an actor and nominated for an Academy Award. [5]
King Sr. played a notable role in the nomination of Jimmy Carter as the Democratic candidate for President in the 1976 election. After Carter's success in the Iowa caucus, the New Hampshire primary and the Florida primary, some liberal Democrats were worried about his success and began an "ABC" movement – for "Anyone But Carter" – to try to head off his nomination. King Sr. pointed to Carter's leadership in ending the era of segregation in Georgia, and helping to repeal laws ending voting restrictions that especially disenfranchised African Americans. With King's support, Carter continued to build a coalition of black and white voters and win the nomination. King Sr. delivered the invocation at the 1976 and 1980 Democratic National Conventions.
With his son's widow Coretta Scott King, King Sr. was present when President Carter awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rev. King. Jr. posthumously in 1977.
King Sr. published his autobiography in 1980. On November 11, 1984, he died of a heart attack at the Crawford W. Long Hospital in Atlanta.
[edit] Books
- David Collins, Not Only Dreamers: the story of Martin Luther King, Sr. and Martin Luther King, Jr. (Elgin, Ill: Brethren Press, 1986)
- Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr., Daddy King: an Autobiography (New York: William Morrow & Co., 1980)
[edit] See also
Martin Luther King, Jr., his son
Martin Luther King III, one of Martin Luther King, Jr's sons
[edit] External references
- Stanford University article on Martin Luther King Sr.
- The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. Chapter 1 Early Years
- Martin Luther King Jr., An Autobiography of Religious Development 1950
- PBS American Experience page on Jimmy Carter
[edit] References
- ^ National Archives Registration Card, Retrieved 12 May 2006.
- ^ King Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23 May 2006.
- ^ Ancestry of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., compiled by William Addams Reitwiesner. Retrieved 23 May 2006.
- ^ Chapter 1: Early Years. The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- ^ Thespian Net. Samuel L. Jackson. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
