At this time of year there are many different posts about Martin Luther King Jr. Usually they rehash the same information. Here are 8 facts that are not commonly discussed that you should know.
Fact 1: He was born Michael Luther King, Jr. January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Fact 2: His father, Michael King, Sr., changed their names to Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr. when Martin Jr. was about five.
Fact 3: Dr King was the youngest person, at the time, to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Fact 4: Author of six books published from 1958 through 1968, works on American race relations and collections of his sermons and lectures
Read: How To Make Martin Luther King Jr’s Dream A Reality With Kids
Fact 5: King stood behind President Lyndon B. Johnson as Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law.
Fact 6: Senate investigations revealed that the FBI illegally bugged King’s hotel rooms and home phone from 1962-1968
Fact 7: An ongoing controversy over the inscription on the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial which says “I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.”, is taken from a 1968 King sermon, “If you want to say I was a drum major, say I was a drum major for justice, say I was a drum major for peace, I was a drum major for righteousness and all the other shallow things will not matter.”, at issue is also the cost to repair, change or delete the inscription.
Fact 8: He met with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, along with Roy Wilkins, A. Philip Randolph, and Lester Grange on problems affecting black Americans. Making it an interesting fact that he actually met with two presidents about Civil Rights at different times.
Make sure to read: What If Barack Obama And Martin Luther King Wrote A Speech Together? [Video]
