(1929-1968)

Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that love and peaceful protest could eliminate social injustice. A clergyman and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, he was one of the outstanding African-American leaders of the United States at a time when many blacks were clearly treated as inferior people. His house was bombed and his life and family was often threatened, but until the day he died, Dr. King continued to teach people the world over to protest peacefully in order to achieve equality and peace.

“I have a dream 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.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

My song Martin was the first hero song I wrote, way back in 1994. I remember wanting to somehow show Dr. King’s different way of looking at the world, a way that includes love as well as smarts. Dr. King had that wonderful combination of brains and hard work.

Links:

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, Atlanta, GA [http://www.nps.gov/malu/index.htm]

Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, AL [http://www.nps.gov/semo/index.htm]

Nobelprize.org Martin Luther King, Jr. Biography [http://nobelprize.org/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html]

Martin Luther King, Jr. quotations [http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/martin_luther_king_jr.html]