Martin Luther King Jr.

He jumped down of a story-window at the age of 12.

Luther King allegedly attempted suicide after he was traumatised by the death of his grandmother jennie.

That accident was King's second suicide attempt before the age of 13

King was an extremely sensitive child who suffered from numerous bouts of severe depression

The racial discrimination and abuses suffered by the boy's family and community impacted him deeply

Yet at school King was a brilliant student
He skipped grade 9 & 10 and graduated from high school at the age of 15.

He earned a Sociological degree at the age 19 and Ph.D in Systematic Theology at 26

At 24 he married aspiring singer & musician Coretta Scott. They eventually had four children together

In 1956 King's house was bombed after he lead a boycott to protest the segregation bus system in Montgomery, Alabama

The protest was spurred by a 15 year-old girl who refused to give up her seat for a white man.
It was that campaign that brought the 26 year-old Baptist minister to national attention.

At 30 King visited India to study Gandhi's Philosophy and strategies on non- violent civil disobedience.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that

Then in 1963, King was arrested & jailed while leading anti-segregation protests in Birmingham, Alabama.

In prison he writes the famous Letter from Birmingham City jail arguing that citizens have a moral duty to disobey unjust laws.

Later that year, King delivered his historic I HAVE A DREAM speech at the March on Washington attended by 200,000 protesters

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.

In 1964, Congress passes in Civil Rights Act, outlawing segregation and racial discrimination in employment and education.

King is awarded the Nobel Peace Price that year in recognition of his role in furthering racial equality.
He then Championed issues of voting rights, economic injustice & equality in his final years.

King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 sparking riots in more than 100 U.S cities.

Martin Luther King Jr. is today revered the world over as an icon of Justice & Equality and one of the 20th century's defining figures.

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools - Martin Luther King Jr.