The Life of Dr. King
A great man was born…
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January 15, 1929 Michael Luther King,
Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia.
He later changed his name to Martin.
He is also known as MLK.
The house he grew up in was on 501
Auburn Avenue. It is now a historic site
that you can visit.
Martin had a brother, Alfred, and a
sister, Christine.
His father was Martin Senior. He was a
minister.
His mother was Alberta Williams King.
She was a teacher.
501 Auburn Avenue
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/MLK/
Childhood…
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Young Martin was an excellent student
in school.
He skipped grades in both elementary
school and high school.
He enjoyed reading books, singing,
riding a bicycle, and playing football
and baseball.
Martin went Morehouse College in
Atlanta, Georgia. He was only 15 years
old.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/MLK/
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Alice Gatewood-Waddell
depicts the birthplace of
Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., his early childhood
years, parents and family.
It reflects the influence of
his father’s church.
The college years…
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King received diplomas from:
– Morehouse College in 1948
– Crozer Theological Seminary in
1951
– Boston University in 1955
Coretta Scott and Martin met over the
phone in 1952.
http://marriage.about.com/od/politics/p/martincoretta.htm
Marriage & children…
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Martin and Coretta were married on
June 18, 1953 in Marion, Alabama.
Martin's father, the Reverend King, Sr.,
married them.
Martin and Coretta had four children:
– Yolanda "Yoki" Denise King: Born
November 17, 1955.
– Martin Luther III: Born on October
23, 1957.
– Dexter Scott King: Born on
January 30, 1961.
– Bernice Albertine King: Born on
March 28, 1963 in.
Dr. King became a minister. He moved
to Alabama.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta
Scott King, sit with three of their four children in
their Atlanta, GA, home, on March 17, 1963.
http://marriage.about.com/od/politics/p/martincoretta.htm
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Vonda Victor shows Dr. King’s
education. Represented also are
his marriage to Coretta Scott
and his four children.
Civil Rights…1950’s
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Martin experienced racism early in life.
He decided to do to something to make
the world a better and fairer place.
During the 1950's, Dr. King became
active in the movement for civil rights
and racial equality.
Rosa Parks was arrested on December
1, 1955. King joins the bus boycotts.
On December 5, 1955, he is elected
president of the Montgomery
Improvement Association. This makes
him the official spokesman for the
boycott.
On November 13, 1956, the Supreme
Court rules that bus segregation is
illegal.
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/srs216.html
Mass meeting at Holt Street Baptist Church calls for a
bus boycott, December, 1955.
Civil Rights…1950’s
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On May 17, 1957, Dr. King speaks to a
crowd of 15,000 in Washington, D.C.
In 1958, the U.S. Congress passed the
first Civil Rights Act. This is the first
act passed since the 1870’s.
In 1958, King's first book is published.
It is called Stride Toward Freedom.
Martin Luther King, Jr. went on a
speaking tour. He is nearly killed when
a woman in Harlem stabs him.
In 1959, Dr. King visited India to study
Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence.
He resigns from pastoring to
concentrate on civil rights full time.
He moved to Atlanta to direct the
activities of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference.
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/srs216.html
1958 Cover of Stride Toward Freedom.
Civil Rights…1960
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King and his father become co-pastors
at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in
Atlanta, Georgia.
Lunch counter sit-ins began in
Greensboro, North Carolina.
In Atlanta, King is arrested during a sitin. He was waiting to be served at a
restaurant.
He is sentenced to four months in jail.
John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy
help. Dr. King is let out of jail.
Student Non-Violent Coordinating
Committee is founded. They organize
protests at Shaw University in Raleigh,
North Carolina.
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/srs216.html
Students attempting to get service in Woolworths'
white lunch-counter in Greensboro, North Carolina (1963).
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAnaacp.htm
Civil Rights…1961
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In November, the Interstate Commerce
Commission bans segregation on buses.
This is because of the work of Dr. King
and the Freedom Riders.
During the spring of 1961, student from
the Congress of Racial Equality
(CORE) started the Freedom Rides.
They did this to end segregation on
buses and in stations like Greyhound.
Freedom Riders waiting to board a bus.
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/srs216.html
http://www.crmvet.org/images/imgcoll.htm
The Freedom Riders…
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Dr. King and others faced violence
along the way from Washington D.C. to
Jackson Mississippi.
On May 14, 1961, a bus was bombed
by the Klu Klux Klan. They were
stopped in Anniston, Alabama.
Dr. King, and all others of the
campaign, saw acts of violence from
whites in the south. This proved to
them that nonviolent confrontations
could attract national attention and
force federal action.
1961 Greyhound bus bombing in Anniston, Alabama.
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/srs216.html
http://www.crmvet.org/images/imgcoll.htm
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Granville Mitchell’s canvas
shows historic Freedom Riders
civil rights activities and the
violent action taken against
them.
Civil Rights…1963
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On Good Friday (April 12) Dr. King is
arrested with Ralph Abernathy for
demonstrating without a permit.
On April 13, the Birmingham campaign
begins. This would prove to be the
turning point to end segregation in the
South.
During the eleven days he spent in jail,
MLK writes his famous Letter from
Birmingham Jail.
On May 10, the Birmingham agreement
is announced. The stores, restaurants,
and schools will be desegregated.
On June 23, MLK leads 125,000 people
on a Freedom Walk in Detroit.
The March on Washington held August
28, is the largest civil rights
demonstration in history. There were
almost 250,000 people in attendance.
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/srs216.html
Dr. King is arrested more than once for
demonstrating without a permit.
http://www.thechiefsource.com/2006_01_01_chiefsource_archive.html
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Thomas Withrow’s work
illustrates King’s civil rights
work with marches, sit-ins, and
protests as well as images of
atrocities inflicted on King and
other civil rights supporters.
Civil Rights…1964
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At the August 1963, March on
Washington, King makes his famous I
Have a Dream speech.
On January 3, King appears on the
cover of Time magazine as Man of the
Year.
King attends the signing ceremony of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 at the
White House on July 2.
During the summer, King experiences
his first hurtful rejection by black
people when he is stoned by Black
Muslims in Harlem.
King is awarded the Nobel Prize for
Peace on December 10. Dr. King is the
youngest person to receive that award at
age 35.
Time Man of the Year cover.
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/srs216.html
Civil Rights…1965 1966
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On February 2, 1965, King is arrested
in Selma, Alabama during a voting
rights demonstration.
After President Johnson signs the
Voting Rights Act into law, Martin
Luther King, Jr. turns to the problems
of poor blacks.
On January 22, 1966, King moves into
a Chicago slum to show the living
conditions of the poor.
In June, 1966, King and others begin
the March Against Fear through the
South.
On July 10, 1966, King starts a
campaign to end discrimination in
Chicago.
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/srs216.html
Floyd McKissick, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Stokely
Carmichael during the March Against Fear in Mississippi,
June 1966.
Civil Rights…1967
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Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or
Community? is published.
The Supreme Court upholds a
conviction of MLK by a Birmingham
court. He was demonstrating without a
permit. King spends four days in
Birmingham jail.
On November 27, King announces the
creation of the Poor People's Campaign.
It focuses on jobs and freedom for the
poor of all races.
1967 Cover of Where Do We Go
From Here: Chaos or Community?
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/srs216.html
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Glenn Bolling paints of historic
speeches, King’s accolades
including the Nobel Peace
Prize. The work also shows
men who influenced and were
influenced by Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.
Civil Rights…1968
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King declares that the Poor People's
Campaign will end in a march on
Washington. They will demand a $12
billion Economic Bill of Rights. This
would promise employment to those
who can work, money for those who
can’t, and an end to housing
discrimination.
Dr. King marches in support of
sanitation workers on strike in
Memphis, Tennessee.
On March 28, King lead a march that
turns violent. This was the first time
this happened.
Dr. King gives his I've Been to the
Mountaintop speech.
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/srs216.html
Dr. King’s I've Been To The Mountain Top speech.
Assassination…1968
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At sunset on April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. is shot and killed. He
was standing on the balcony of the
Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
There are riots and disturbances in 130
American cities. There were twenty
thousand arrests.
Dr. King's funeral on April 9 is a global
event.
Within a week of the assassination, the
Open Housing Act is passed by
Congress.
Mourners at Dr. King’s funeral.
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/srs216.html
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Thelma Green’s painting with
an image of the Lorraine Hotel
where King was shot is also an
epitaph as she depicts King in
front of the "mountain top."
Dr. King’s Legacy…
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On October 19, 1983, the Senate voted
to make Reverend, Dr. Martin Luther
King’s Jr. birthday a national
holiday. It is the third Monday of
January. President Regan signed the
bill into law on November 2.
1986 was the first year to celebrate. A
week of concerts, church services,
school activities and parades took place
in cities all across the country.
It wasn’t until 1993 that all fifty states
observed the holiday. Arizona and New
Hampshire were the last to celebrate the
holiday.
http://www.nyking.org/celebration/nationalholiday.html
Meet the Artists…
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The mural “I Have A Dream: A Salute To The
Life Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is a
collaboration of six local African American
artists: Glen Bolling, Thelma Green,
Granville Mitchell, Vonda Victor, Alice
Gatewood-Waddell and Thomas Whitrow.
The mural is an 18 ft. long acrylic painting on
canvas, and each artist painted a 36 X 45
section of the mural representing different
times in the life of Dr.King.
Alice Gatewood-Waddell
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A native of Bowling Green, KY, Alice
Gatewood Waddell has developed an
artistic style that appears to a variety of
collectors. Primarily known for her
mixed media designs, Waddell seeks to
incorporate positive messages regarding
family, unity, and spiritual celebration
to both move and inspire the viewer.
A formally trained artist, Waddell
obtained a BFA, with a concentration in
painting, from Western Kentucky
University. Waddell teaches art classes,
gives private lessons, and conducts
workshops for children and adults.
Waddell’s work is included in many
local and national corporate and
organizational collections.
Vonda K. Victor
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Victor has been part of the Bowling Green
community for 18 years. She is a 1990 WKU
graduate with a BA in graphic design and has
participated in several local art exhibitions.
She owns Monograms and More in downtown Bowling Green, which offers
monogramming, glass etching and graphic
design services.
Victor works in several mediums including,
acrylic paint, calligraphy, stained glass, and
fabrics. She receives incredible joy from
calligraphy of inspirational scriptures for
homes and churches. She also produced a
commissioned stained glass pieces for a
business in her hometown of Hopkinsville
and worked for her sorority, Delta Sigma
Theta. One of her proudest moments was to
provide a piece for Bishop Vashti McKenzie.
Granville Mitchell
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Mitchell, a Bowling Green native, is a selftaught artist. He is an assistant ticket agent at
the Bowling Green Greyhound Bus Lines.
Mitchell discovered his love of painting in
high school and he prefers working in oil.
Mitchell’s vibrant work captures movement,
the dynamic of life. You can see other
examples of Mitchell’s work on display at
Barnes and Noble through the month of
February.
Thomas Withrow
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Withrow has had many different jobs in his
lifetime but art has always been an important
part of his life. He received formal art
education at Western Kentucky University,
but developed a reputation as a portrait artist
through trial and error, working mostly with
pastels and charcoals.
Withrow enjoys working with oils and
acrylics, as well as screen-printing and
occasionally sign painting. Withrow feels
fortunate to possess a God-given gift that he
will enjoy all his life.
Glen Bolling
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Bolling is a Bowling Green native and
is part of the Western Kentucky
University family. He has enjoyed
doing art all his life. He considers
himself a muralist and became
interested in mural work while working
as a wall painter in Michigan. Bolling
took a couple of basic art classes when
living in Michigan.
Examples of Bolling’s work can be
viewed inside at Trinity Baptist Church
and on a wall at Ragland Lane. Bolling
has collaborated with local artists doing
mural work in Bowling Green including
working with Delaire Rowe at Parker
Bennett Community Center.
Thelma L. Green
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A self taught artist, Green, a native of Warren
County was born in Woodburn, KY. She
always loved drawing and would practice on
any found material including brown paper
bags, cardboard, plaster board, and even the
bedroom walls. After graduating from Warren
Central High School she finished two
semesters at Western Kentucky University.
In 2004 Green took a painting class under
Neil Peperis. The painting class reaffirmed
her love of art as she has been painting and
entering local art exhibitions since. Green’s
work is part of the Kentucky Museum’s
collection and currently on display on the 5th
Floor of Cravens.
I Have A Dream:
A Salute To The Life Of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
This was a collaborative mural honoring the life of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
It was on exhibit at the Kentucky Library and
Museum Jan. 6th – Feb. 26th 2006 in Bowling
Green, KY.