Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday
January 15th


"King" is a British family
name.
Most black slaves in America, (when there were slaves), were given the surnames of
their masters. And since a great majority of the original slave-owning
colonists in America were of British
origin, it stands to reason that most African Americans will have British
surnames. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLKJ) is named after the great German,
Christian protestant, Martin Luther. MLKJ was not a Lutheran,
which is ironic. He was Southern Baptist Minister.
MLKJ didn't live during the times of slavery.
He lived in the times of segregation, discrimination, prejudice, and oppression against African
Americans (in the early to middle part of the twentieth century). He was a
great advocate of civil rights, and has been compared to Gandhi. He (and
Gandhi) promoted civil rights through
non-violent means. He was assassinated in 1968. He is one of the most
beloved historical figures in
African American
history.
For more information, check out the following
site:
http://www.thekingcenter.com
