Discover the Dream: Top 14 Fun and Inspiring Facts About Martin Luther King Jr.

1. Hermione Granger Meets MLK Jr.

Who knew that Martin Luther King Jr. was a knowledge-seeking bookworm who could give Hermione Granger a run for her Galleons? Well, buckle up, history buffs: MLK Jr. not only earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College and a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer Theological Seminary, but he also snagged a doctorate degree from Boston University in 1955, penned five books and countless articles, and snagged a whopping five honorary degrees.
Source => nobelprize.org

2. MLK's Superhero Squad

Who needs Avengers when you've got academics?: Martin Luther King Jr. found his superhero squad in Morehouse College President Dr. Benjamin E. Mays and professors Dr. Walter P. Chivers and Dr. George D. Kelsey, who introduced him to Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent tactics, the issues of segregation, and the concept of reading between the Bible's lines, ultimately steering him away from law and medicine, towards the ministry.
Source => morehouse.edu

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=> Fun Facts about Harriet-Tubman

3. Jazz and Justice Jam Session

Who said jazz and justice can't jam together? Let's swing into the world of Martin Luther King Jr., where saxophones met speeches: MLK had quite an affinity for jazz music and even considered Charlie Parker the greatest jazz musician of all time. So much so, his appreciation for jazz was celebrated at the very first Berlin Jazz Festival, where his writings highlighted how jazz artists played a crucial role in shaping the identity of American Negroes.
Source => nola.com

4. MLK Rejects Nietzsche, Embraces Gandhi

Who says Nietzsche and MLK don't mix? Well, Martin Luther King Jr. himself, actually: He rejected Friedrich Nietzsche's ideas, choosing instead to embrace Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent resistance philosophy as the only moral and practical approach for oppressed people seeking freedom. King also found inspiration in the works of Walter Rauschenbusch and Reinhold Niebuhr, believing that any religion failing to address social and economic inequalities was spiritually lacking.
Source => kinginstitute.stanford.edu

5. The Iron-lung Civil Rights King

Call him the "Iron-lung Civil Rights King": Martin Luther King Jr. narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in 1958 when a deranged fan decided to autograph his chest with a letter opener, lodging it near his heart. It took hours of surgery to remove the seven-inch souvenir, and King later mentioned just how close the blade was to puncturing his aorta in his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech. Ironically, the man known for surviving many a heated debate over civil rights had his life spared by a hair's breadth – or should we say, a blade's width?
Source => ajc.com

6. The Heavy-Duty Dreamer

When Martin Luther King Jr. dreamt, boy, did he dream big: On August 28th, 1963 during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, MLK shared his heavy-duty slumber thoughts with the world, delivering the iconic "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial which called for an end to racial segregation and discrimination, ultimately becoming a cornerstone of American civil rights history.
Source => npr.org

7. MLK's Mighty Pen

If a pen is mightier than a sword, then Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had one powerful arsenal: He authored six profound books during his lifetime, covering topics from the Montgomery Bus Boycott to insightful sermons and the pivotal Birmingham Campaign of 1963.
Source => uky.edu

8. Stevie Wonder's Musical MLK Tribute

Stevie Wonder, the wonderful wizard of birthdays, waved his musical wand and orchestrated a harmonious holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.: Using his enchanting tune "Happy Birthday," Wonder campaigned to establish MLK's birthday as a national holiday, which ultimately succeeded and was first celebrated on January 20th, 1986.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

9. The Unplanned Dream Speech

Hold onto your dreams, folks, because this one's a doozy: Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic "I Have a Dream" speech was never meant to be about, well, dreams! In fact, it was originally titled "Normalcy, Never Again" and had gone through multiple drafts without a hint of the dreamy refrain. But thanks to gospel singer Mahalia Jackson's mid-speech inspiration, King improvised, and we now have the legendary address that still echoes through history.
Source => mlkonline.net

10. MLK's Jailhouse Writer's Retreat

In a series of unfortunate incarcerations, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. notably signed up for an impromptu writer's retreat – in a Birmingham jail cell: While behind bars for demonstrating without a permit in 1963, King penned his iconic "Letter from Birmingham Jail," proving that his pursuit for civil rights and equality couldn't be dampened, even by the 30 arrests under his belt.
Source => touchofmodern.com

11. Peace-Keeping Wizardry

When he wasn’t busy having a day named after him, Martin Luther King Jr dabbled in a bit of peace-keeping wizardry: At the sprightly age of 35 in 1964, he became the youngest person to ever receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership in the American civil rights movement, channeling his inner Gandhi after a trip to India in 1959 to strengthen his nonviolence prowess.
Source => highlandpiper-sc.com

12. MLK's Debate and Philosophy Dabbling

When Martin Luther King wasn't busy having dreams and changing the world, he also dabbled in the art of debate and philosophy: As a doctoral student at Boston University, King immersed himself in personalism philosophy, learning from mentors like Edgar S. Brightman and L. Harold DeWolf, participating in the Dialectical Society, and delivering powerful sermons at local churches—but it was later revealed that his essays and dissertation borrowed heavily from others’ work without proper citations.
Source => kinginstitute.stanford.edu

13. King's Published Treasures

If speeches were ammunition, Martin Luther King Jr. would've been an entire arsenal – but wait, there's more to this civil rights prodigy than just powerful oration: Besides his legendary speeches, King published five books, enlightening the world on topics ranging from civil rights to nonviolence, such as "Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story," "Why We Can't Wait," and "Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?"
Source => catholicworldreport.com

14. MLK: Poetry Prodigy and Speech Maestro

If Langston Hughes and Abraham Lincoln had a love child who went on a power spree with a microphone: Martin Luther King Jr. not only had a knack for reciting poetry, like his high school win for "The Negro and The Constitution," but he also delivered some of the most unforgettable speeches in American history, including the iconic "I Have a Dream" masterpiece.
Source => wist.info