Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life Magazine: An illustrated Time Line in the Fight of Equality.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life Magazine: An illustrated Time Line in the Fight of Equality.

Elaborated and Designed by: Jose Julian Moreno American Culture Studies Universidad Tecnologica de El Salvador San Salvador, El Salvador 2017

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his illustrated historic time line magazine of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

provides different facts that were part of the life of this historic character, who changed the world for better. Throughout this historical timeline, you will be able to read and learn about important facts that were part of the history of The United States and the world itself. The different facts have been chronological ordered in different years and months. The different chunks of information found in the timeline, are designed to be short and brief but fully educational.

During that difficult time of the Civil Rights Movement, these and other facts occurred and shaped not only the lives of millions of people, but also, the history of a country, and the history of the world.

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The following work has been designed for the class of American Culture at Universidad Tecnologica de El Salvador, however it can be used in any class with interest history and Dr. King’s example.

This timeline was elaborated and designed

by Julian Moreno, an inspired teacher by Dr. King’s example at Universidad Tecnologica de El Salvador.

Competency to develop with this time line magazine To understand the concept of social equality as one of the cores for society

Element of the competency: To analyze the different factors that started the fight for The Civil Rights in the United States

1929 We start our journey on January 15th 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. Michael Luther King Jr. or Martin Luther King Jr. was born. His father was Michael Luther King, who was a minister, and his mother was Alberta King. His older sister was Willie Christine.

1932

Young Martin Luther King Jr. starts nursery

school.

1935

Martin goes to the Yonge Street Elementary School. Later on, his education will follow at David T. Howard Elementary School and the Atlanta University Laboratory School.

1939

World War II starts.

Boston Evening Globe newspaper announcing the beginning of WW2

1942

Martin L. King goes to Booker T. Washington High School, but he does not complete his studies due to an early admission at Atlanta Morehouse College program for advance placement.

In April 1942- C.O.R.E. (The Congress of Racial Equality) is founded

by James Farmer.

1944

Martin Luther king attends Morehouse College in Atlanta.

1945

World War II ends.

V-J Day in Times Square, a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt, was published in Life in 1945

1946 The United States Supreme Court banned segregation in buses that travel to different states.

Newspaper publishing about the Banning of segregation in buses

August 10th- In Athens, Alabama, race riots were taking place in that city.

September 29th- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, other race riots began to occur.

December 5th- President Harry Truman started to investigate racism in the United States territory with the creation of The National Committee on Civil Rights.

President Harry Truman

1947 Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his first sermon and becomes a minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, he was 18 years old.

Martin Luther King preaching at Ebenezer Baptist Church

April 9th- The “Freedom Riders� began to test the laws of different interstate bus travels in the segregated part of the South.

April 15th- Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play baseball at a major league for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Jackie Robinson

October 29th- A committee on Civil Right condemned racial injustices towards black people in the United States.

1948 Martin Luther King Jr. serves as the assistant pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

June 8th- King finishes his degree in Sociology and graduates Entrance of Ebenezer Church in Atlanta, GA

from Morehouse College in Atlanta, he was 19 years old.

September 14th- King starts to attend Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania.

King graduates with a Bachelor of Divinity degree at Crozer, he was 22 years old.

1951 September- He begins studying systematic theology as a graduate student at Boston University.

1953 Martin Luther King marries Coretta Scott, in Marion Alabama.

June 19th- The first bus boycott starts in the city of Baton Rouge in Louisiana.

1954 On May 17th, the Supreme Court rules that racial segregation in the public schools within the U.S. was unconstitutional.

Cover page of the Tallahassee Democrat announcing the banning of segregation in public schools

September 1st- Martin Luther King Jr. becomes pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

1955 On May 31st, the Supreme Court commands to desegregate all public schools as soon as possible.

June 5th- Martin Luther King receives his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Boston University.

August 28th- Young Emmet Till was tortured and lynched in Money, Mississippi, he was 14 years old.

November 25th – Segregation in buses is banned by the Interstate Commerce Commission.

The Alabama Journal’s front page in regards to the banning of segregation in buses.

December 1st- A 42-year-old seamstress named Rosa Parks is arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for refusing to give her bus seat to a white male passenger. (The picture on the left shows Miss Parks being fingerprinted after her detention.)

December 5th- Martin Luther King becomes the president of the Montgomery Improvement Association. The aim of this organization was to protest against the incident involving Rosa parks and the Montgomery bus boycott begins.

1956 On January 30th Dr. King’s Jr. house is bombed, gladly, there were no injuries. (The picture on the right shows us the house after being bombed)

December 21st- Buses in Montgomery are desegregated and black people could legally take any seat on the city’s buses.

1957

Martin Luther King Jr. is elected president of The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). It was formed to create strategies to ending segregation. (The picture above was taken at the SCLC conference that year)

January 27th- An unexploded bomb was discovered on the Kings’ front porch.

February 18th- Martin Luther King Jr. is shown in the cover of Time magazine.

March 6th- King visits Ghana in West Africa. (The picture below shows us MLK and his wife while in Ghana)

May 17th- King gives his first national speech “Give us the Ballot” at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom at the Lincoln Memorial.

Dr. Martin Luther King at Lincoln Memorial giving his speech “Give Us the Ballot”

September 9th- The Congress of the United States passes the Civil Right Act of 1957.

September 24th and 25th- Under order of president Eisenhower, federal troops were sent to enforce integration of schools in Little Rock. Nine black students were escorted into the school.

(The picture above shows us Elizabeth Eckford, 15 years old attempting to enter Little Rock Central High School, Arkansas, she was followed by a mob).

October 23rd- King’s second child is born.

An unknown newspaper shares the news of the newly born Martin Luther King III

1958

On June 23rd Dr. King and other black leaders meet with President Eisenhower.

September 17th- King’s first book “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story” is published.

September 20th- Dr. King is stabbed by a woman in Harlem, New York. (The picture in the right shows the front page of the Sunday News from September 21 st 1958)

1959 From February 2nd to March 10th, Dr. King along with his wife visit India as guests of the Prime Minister Nehru. Also, the book “The Measure of a Man� is published.

The Kings are welcomed in New Delhi, India in 1959

1960 In February, King and his family move to Atlanta, where he helps his father as a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church (On the left, we can appreciate Dr. King delivering a sermon at Ebenezer Church, Atlanta in 1960).

May 6th- The Civil Rights Act of 1960 is signed into a law by President Eisenhower.

President Eisenhower

October 19th- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is arrested for breaking the state of Georgia’s trespassing law while picketing in Atlanta.

1961 On January 31st Dexter Scott, King’s third child is born in Atlanta, Georgia.

May 4th- A group of “Freedom Riders” left Washington, DC on different buses, and upon arrival near Anniston, Alabama, some of the buses were burned and the riders were beaten.

October 16th- King meets with President Kennedy to get support for the civil right movement.

December 16th- Dr. King and other protesters were arrested in Albany, Georgia.

1962 On September 30th, different riots break out on the campus at the University of Mississippi.

1963 On March 28th Dr. King’s fourth child, Bernice Albertine is born in Atlanta, Georgia.

April 12th- Dr. King is arrested again at a sit-in demonstration in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against public eating facilities.

April 16th- While being locked up, Dr. King writes about his concerns on the pace of justice in civil rights for Black Americans in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail�.

Picture taken by the police department in Birmingham, Alabama.

June 11th- George Wallace, governor of Alabama, stands in the door of the University of Alabama refusing the entrance of black students.

June 12th- Medgar Evers, civil rights leader was assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi.

Medgar Evers

August 28th- Another meeting is held between John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. After the meeting, Dr. King delivers his famous speech “I have a Dream�. It is estimated that 250,000 people marched in Washington for jobs and freedom.

September 1st- Dr. King publishes his book “The Strength to Love�

September 15th- Four girls were killed when a bomb exploded inside a church. Dr. King delivers a eulogy for three of the girls.

September 18th- The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama is attacked.

November 22nd- President John F. Kennedy is assassinated.

John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Texas.

1964 On January 3rd, Time Magazine recognizes Dr. King as “Man of the Year”

January 18th- Dr. King meets with President Lyndon B. Johnson.

March 26th- Dr. King meets Malcom X.

June 4th- Another King’s book is published; the name of the book is “Why We Can’t Wait”

June 11th- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is arrested in St. Augustine, Florida for attempting to eat in a “White-only restaurant�.

June 2nd- Dr. King is invited to the White House while President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Public Accommodation and Fair Employment sections to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Martin Luther King shakes hands with President Lyndon B. Johnson after the Civil Right Act of 1964 was officially signed.

August 4th- Three civil rights workers were killed on a trip between Philadelphia and Mississippi, not all of them were black.

December 10th- Dr. King becomes the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, for his noble fight through non-violent means. (On the picture to the right, we can see MLK showing his Noble Prize after receiving it in Oslo)

1965 On February 21st, Malcom X is killed in New York.

Cover page of Los Angeles Times from February 22nd 1965

March 7th- In Selma, Alabama, several marchers were beaten and tear-gassed in the Edmund Pettus Bridge incident.

March 17th- Dr. King and an estimated 25,000 other protestors marched from Selma to Montgomery for their voting rights.

March 25th- Mrs. Viola Liuzzo was killed while driving some of the black marchers back to Selma.

Dr. Martin Luther King while marching with supporters of his cause in Selma.

August 6th- The 1965 Voting Rights Act was signed into a law by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

August 11th and 12th- America’s worst single racial disturbance took place, thirty-five people died at the Watts Riots in California.

1966 On January 13th, Robert C. Weaver becomes the first black to serve the cabinet as Secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Robert C Weaver

May 16th- Dr. King speaks against the government’s policy in Vietnam.

June 6th- James Meredith was wounded after being shot on the “March Against Fear”. They were marching to Jackson Mississippi from Memphis, Tennessee.

June 7th- After the shootings the day before, the march continues.

July 18th to July 23rd- The National Guard are called in when riots break out in Chicago, Cleveland, Nebraska and Ohio.

August 6th- Dr. King Marches on the issue for opening housing in Chicago and stoned by angry onlookers.

1967 In January, Dr. King’s book “Where Do We Go from Here? Chaos or Community” is published.

June 23rd- Thurgood Marshall becomes the first black on the U.S. Supreme Court.

May 1st to October 1st- After different riots took place in the summertime, 43 were killed, Dr. King showed up to stop those riots.

1968 On March 28th, Kings leads a march in Memphis, Tennessee, the march turns violent.

April 3rd- Dr. King gives his last speech at Manson Temple in Memphis, this was the “I’ve been to the Mountaintop Speech”.

April 4th- While being on the balcony of the room Dr. King was staying in at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, Dr. Martin Luther King is shot and killed.

Moments after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

April 5th- President Lyndon B. Johnson decrees that Sunday, April 7th 1968, be a day for national mourning in honor of Dr. King.

April 7th- His body is viewed by thousands on the campus of Spelman College in Atlanta.

Photo showing the King family along with the corpse of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

April 9th- More than 300,000 people marched through the city of Atlanta with his mule-drawn coffin.

His funeral was held at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta. Dr. King was buried in South View Cemetery, Atlanta.

June 8th- The murderer of Dr. King is detained at a London airport; his name was James Earl Ray. May 10th- James Earl Ray was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

James Earl Ray, murderer of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Being deported back to U.S. soil from London

1977 Dr. King was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter.

1986 The Martin Luther King Jr Day was established as a national holiday in the United States.

1998 James Earl Ray, the murderer of Dr. King, died in prison of liver failure.

2004 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was posthumously awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.

2011 The Martin Luther King Jr. Monument is inaugurated on August 22 in that year.

Monument in Washington D.C.

2017 The fight for ethnic equality is still present in The United States.

IMPORTANT: All the photos used in this magazine had as purpose illustrate the different facts throughout this timeline, I do not own any of the rights of the photos used, the credits are for those people who did history by capturing those moments for the future generations, hoping they don’t make the same mistakes we’ve done.

Conclusions Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. indeed is a character that will remain in history throughout time. Many people might not appreciate his sacrifices and efforts due to the fact that some of his acts can be considered disrespectful and dishonest. Let us remember that Dr. King was human after all, and he also did things we could have done in order to defend our beliefs and ideals, and that’s how history presents us Dr. King, a man willing to do whatever it takes to live and even die for what you are fighting for.

As human, several imperfections might have been part of Dr. King’s life, but those are just the tip of the iceberg to difficult work and contributions to his cause back in the 60s. Let us observe and learn from his example, the one of fighting uphill; he faced threats, verbal abuse, violence with grace and dignity. On the other hand, Malcom X, a more militant reformer and thinker showed us a totally different version of how to fight for those ideals.

There is much to be done to reach racial equality, however with Dr. King’s example, a whole country and even the world, witnessed a human being fighting for others, thus with that example set the first steps towards change.

Sadly, a bullet was shot to cover Dr. King’s mouth, though it did not work. His example lives on the people who still fight to reach “his dream” and not only in the black community, but also in people of all ethnic backgrounds who continue Dr. King’s legacy reaching peaceful protest, awareness of social issues, education and above all his example of reaching first, peace among races for all men, women, children regardless of the race or economic status and second and most important, reaching us as human beings.

Word Cited Page 1. Haskins, J. (1992). The day Martin Luther King, Jr., was shot: a photo history of the Civil Rights Movement. New York: Scholastic.

2. Alchin, L. (2017, February). Martin Luther King Timeline. Retrieved August 22, 2017, from http://www.datesandevents.org/people-timelines/28-martin-luther-king-timeline.htm 3. Johnson, D. (n.d.). Timeline: Martin Luther King, Jr. Retrieved August 23, 2017, from https://www.infoplease.com/timeline-martin-luther-king-jr-2

4. Softchools.com. (n.d.). Martin Luther King, Jr. Timeline. Retrieved August 23, 2017, from http://www.softschools.com/timelines/martin_luther_king_jr_timeline/58/