was a very intelligent and ambitious man and an outstanding public speaker. Today, black citizens have the basic Constitutional rights that used to be exclusive to whites, thanks to King. Martin Luther King Jr.'s main goal that drove him in all his actions was to achieve racial equality between whites and blacks. Although equality was his goal, Martin Luther King, Jr. would not say that he was "successful"." He would call all the positive actions that occurred during his life, that were spearheaded by him, as "progress"." Success", to King, was nothing short of total race equality.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, to the Reverend and Mrs. Martin Luther King Sr. King Jr. had a strong religious background from the very start. He was the grandson of the Reverend A. D. Williams, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist church, and a founder of Atlanta's NAACP chapter. Sr. succeeded Williams as the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist church and, later, was active as a civil rights leader as well. Even though Martin Jr. questioned literal interpretation of scripture and resented religious emotionalism, King still admired black social gospel leaders, like his father and grandfather, who could use the church as an instrument for improving the lives of blacks in America (Carson 1). At Eighteen, King was licensed to preach and began assisting his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church. A year later, King was ordained as a Baptist minister, and graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta. After attending Morehouse, King went to Crozer Theological Seminary, on a scholarship, to study divinity. While studying at Crozer, King was intrigued by the life and works of Mahatma Gandhi, and began to learn more about the Indian philosopher's teachings, especially non-violent protests (Stephanie 1). After graduating from Crozer as class valedictorian, with a Bachelor of Divinity degree, King then attended Boston University.
