In looking at historical figures, it is important to recognize the forces that made them who they were. Every great man and woman started out just like the rest of us, a newborn baby, a child, a teenager. The events of those years shape us in a million ways. In order to understand the adult, understand the child.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His mother was a schoolteacher and taught him to read and write before he even entered school. He started school in the first grade in 1933...when he was 4 years old! He ended up skipping grades in both elementary and high school.
As gifted and talented as he was, he was a kid like many others. He enjoyed reading books, riding his bike, singing, and playing football and baseball. His childhood experiences with racism and inequality shaped him into the man we remember today. His mother and father taught their children to treat all people with respect. Martin's father worked hard to break down the barriers between the races and it was his example that inspired M.L. to stand up for his rights and to speak out.
In his junior year of high school, he was admitted to Morehouse College without actually graduating from high school! He entered Morehouse at just 15 years old and graduated when he was still a teenager as well - in 1948. he was also ordained as a minister that year. He headed to New England to study for his doctorate at Boston University's School of Theology.
It would be a mistake to not also recognize the strength and passion of the woman who supported him, inspired him, and carried on his legacy until her death two years ago. Coretta Scott King was born in Alabama in 1927. Her father owned a truck business that became successful. She was a young teen when on Thanksgiving Eve, 1942, her family home was burned to the ground by whites.
Her parents taught her that she should never let anyone make her feel she wasn't good enough - despite growing up in a system designed to segregate and deny access. The only school she could attend for high school was five miles away - her mother arranged for a bus (and drove it herself) so that the black students in her area could attend high school. Her parents pushed her to succeed academically and she eventually attended Antioch College in Ohio. She was a talented singer and after graduation from Antioch, she enrolled at the New England Conservatory of Music. It was while she was in Boston that she met Dr. King.
These two young people grew up to change the world. Everyone can make a difference, in ways large and small. We may not know which child will change the world, but we as adults can recognize that all children have that potential. It is our job to help them grow, recognize their potential, and believe in themselves.
To learn about how teachers can inspire the students of today to become the visionaries of tomorrow,
visit our teacher section. If you're an innovative young person,
register for our idea locker today and enter competitions that can earn you $10,000 and a chance to get your voice heard.