Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the greatest civil rights leaders who ever lived. Through his encouraging speeches, he made a huge impact on the world for the equality of all races. Throughout his life, King showed everyone how he believed equality should be achieved. With his peaceful protests and amazing speeches, he influenced people both during his time and after his death. Many believe that King's work in the civil rights movement was the final push America needed to finally respect people, regardless of the color of their skin. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and humanitarian. He was born on January 25, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, under the name Michael King, Jr. Both he and his father later adopted the name of German Protestant leader Martin Luther in his honor. King thrived at Booker T. Washington High School, graduating at age 15 before transferring to Morehouse College. For years he had questioned religion, but in his third year of college he took a Bible class that renewed his faith. King later studied for three years at Crozer Theological Seminary. He met his future wife during his final year of seminary and received his PhD in 1955 at the age of 25. In late 1955, Dr. King was elected to lead his first peaceful public protest. For the rest of the year and throughout 1956, African Americans decided to boycott the Montgomery bus system in response to the arrest of Rosa Parks. After 382 days of protest, the city of Montgomery was forced to revoke its law mandating the segregation of public transportation due to the large financial losses suffered as a result of the protest. King began receiving national news in 1960. In October... half of the document... een reached. The first African American president was elected in 2008. A black man could never have dreamed of holding such an important office in the 1960s. It is illegal to segregate in America. Every man is granted the same rights. Works Cited Aziwike, Abayomi. "The Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King: Continuing the Legacy of the Great Walk to Freedom of 1963." Global search. Np, 25 March 2013. Web. 21 November 2013. Brunner, Borgna. "Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement." Information, please. Infoplease, 2007. Web. November 24, 2013. Garrow, David J. “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” History Net: where history comes to life. Np, Aug. 2013. Web. Nov. 25, 2013. Kennedy, Robert F. “RFK on MLK.” Martin Luther King Jr. [ushistory.org]. Np, 2013. Web. November 25, 2013. “Martin Luther King, Jr.: Fighting for Equal Rights in America.” Tavana. Np, nd Web. November 21. 2013.