Martin Luther King - College Years

As we mark 50 years to the death of Dr. Martin Luther King I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate today's post to him.

King began his undergrad at just age 15 at Morehouse College. At Morehouse King studied sociology and he looked back on his time at Morehouse as a transformative experience . At Morehouse he met many social activists and leaders who had a huge influence on him . During his time at Morehouse King was was introduced to the teachings of renowned Indian political activist, Mahatma Gandhi. From his studies on Gandhi became fixated on the power and effectiveness of non-violent protests. During his undergrad years King was not regarded as a highly gifted or outstanding student but he was very involved in different groups including the debate team and student's council. In his senior year King put out an article which expressed his views on education. In his paper King wrote that "It seems to me that education has a two-fold function to perform in the life of man and in society: the one is utility and the other is culture. Education must enable a man to become more efficient, to achieve with increasing facility the ligitimate goals of his life. "

King then travelled to Boston where he enrolled at Boston University's School of Theology where he completed his Ph.D in systematic theology. King's dissertation was called "A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman". King was interested in their denial of both the personality of God and of the possibility of personal knowledge of God. During his time at BU King was one of the organizers of the Dialectical Society. This was a group of African-American students who met up to discuss and debate philosophical ideas and who those are relevant to the current-issues of their time. King also started to master his public speaking skills as he gave sermons at local churches.

King was one of the great leaders of the 20th century but he also had mentors who helped show him the ropes. King spoke fondly of different mentors he had during his days in school including, Edgar S. Brightman and L.Harold of Boston University and Samuel W. Williams and George D. Kelsey of Moorehouse. These people challenged his existing views of the world and introduced him to new school's of thought including that of Mahatma Gandhi.

-RIP Dr. King