Honoring the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mural of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. by artist Jack Pabis.

On this day of reflection and service, we pause to honor the life of Civil Rights leader the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968).

A Baptist minister who hailed from Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. King's legacy took roots in an early childhood incidence of racism. When his playmate was sent to an all-white school and Martin to a school for Black children, the boys' friendship was ended by the white boy's parents. He then heard the phrase that would haunt him: "We are white, you are colored."

It wasn't until 1944 as a high school junior that King began to publicly speak out on the inequality he observed in race relations. That same year, he was accepted into Morehouse College at age 15. A trip to the integrated North opened his eyes to the possibilities of peaceful coexistence amongst people of all races and he began to consider how the world could - and should - change.