Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was the minister of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, as was his father before him "M.L," as he was called, lived with his parents, his sister and brother in Atlanta, Ga. Their home was not far from the church his father preached and father taught their children what would become an important part of M. L.'s life-to treat all people with respect.

Martin’s father worked hard to break down the barriers between the races. His father believed African- Americans should register their complaints by voting. As M.L. grew up he found that not everyone followed his parents’principles. He noticed that "black" people and white people were treated differently. He saw that he and his white friends could not drink from the same water fountains and could not use the same restrooms.

When M.L.was ready for college he decided to follow his father and become a minister. While attending the Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania he became familiar with Mahatma Gandhi, who had struggled to free the people of India from British rule by "peaceful revolution".

Martin Luther King's involvement with the civil rights movement began with the arrest of Mrs. Rosa Parks, was arrested for not giving a white bus rider her seat, Mrs. Parks was not the first African-American to be arrested for this "crime"，but she was well known in the Montgomery African-American community.

Martin and the other African-American community leaders felt a protest was needed. The African-American residents of the city were asked to boycott the bus company by walking and driving instead. The United States Supreme Court would end the boycott, which lasted 381 days, by declaring that Alabama's state and local laws requiring segregation on buses were illegal. The boycott was a success and Martin had showed that peaceful mass action could bring about change.