Highlights of Dr. King's Life...

1929 - Born on Jan. 15 in Atlanta, Ga., to Rev. and Mrs. Martin Luther King Sr.

1948 - On Feb. 25, at age 18, he is ordained a Baptist minister. Graduated from Morehouse College that year and from Crozer Theological Seminary in 1951.

1955 - Earns a doctoral degree in systematic theology from Boston University.

1955 - Rosa Parks, a leading member of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was jailed for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger. King successfully leads a year-long boycott, achieving integration of Montgomery, Ala., buses. The victory attracts world attention and by late 1956 King was a national figure.

1957 - King helps found and serves as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

1958 - Inspired by King, non-violent protests to end segregation sweep the nation. Hundreds of thousands, young and old, black and white, conduct sit-ins, freedom marches and freedom rides to achieve equal treatment for all people in restaurants, libraries, hospitals, schools and other public places.

1959 - Guest of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, studied Gandhi's techniques of non violence.

1963 - King was arrested and jailed for leading sit-in demonstrations to protest segregated restaurants in Birmingham, Ala. Wrote famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail'' while imprisoned. Book, Strength of Love, published that June.

1963 - In the largest civil rights demonstration in history, 250,000 marchers of all races and religions peacefully gather in the nation's capital Aug. 28 calling for civil rights, jobs and freedom for all. King's words that day, "I Have a Dream,'' have earned a place in history.

1964 - The world honors King's work and he is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for creating positive social change using non-violent means. For the world, he becomes a symbol of peace. His work continues; in America he leads a nonviolent movement to ensure black citizens the right to vote.

1965 - On March 21, active-duty Army and federalized Alabama National Guardsmen protect King and thousands of marchers on the first leg of a march from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery.

1967 - King begins a campaign to help poor people. Through creative nonviolent actions, he hopes to draw attention to their need for decent jobs, housing, health care and education.

1968 - On April 3, King delivers last speech, "I've been to the Mountain Top,'' at the Memphis, Tenn., Masonic Temple. The next day, before joining Memphis sanitation workers for a planned protest march, King is assassinated by James Earl Ray, a white escaped convict. Riots erupted in more than 100 cities across America.

1969 - On Jan. 15, the first march to start a campaign to create a national holiday honoring King is held in Atlanta.

1981 - Entertainer Stevie Wonder started an annual march in Washington, D.C., to lobby for a King holiday. NOTE: Stevie also funded a holiday lobbying office and staff in Washington DC.

1982 - The Freedom Hall Complex honoring King opened Jan. 15 in Atlanta.

1983 - President Ronald Reagan signed Martin Luther King Jr. holiday legislation on Nov. 2.

It took 15 years to create the federal Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday. Congressman John Conyers, Democrat from Michigan, first introduced legislation for a commemorative holiday four days after King was assassinated in 1968. After the bill became stalled, petitions endorsing the holiday containing six million names were submitted to Congress. It remains one of the largest petition drives ever in the history of the United States. Conyers and Rep. Shirley Chisholm, Democrat of New York, resubmitted King holiday legislation each subsequent legislative session. Public pressure for the holiday mounted during the 1982 and 1983 civil rights marches in Washington.

Congress passed the holiday legislation in 1983, which was then signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. A compromise moving the holiday from Jan. 15, King's birthday, which was considered too close to Christmas and New Year's, to the third Monday in January helped overcome opposition to the law.

University of Southern California Black Staff and Faculty Caucus

27th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration
Presents…..The Langston Hughes Project

Dr. Ronald McCurdy - Renowned Professor of Music at the Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California
Performs this multimedia display of Langston Hughes, his life, his art, and his times

The Langston Hughes Project, Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods of Jazz
• Jazz Quartet
• Spoken Word
• Harlem Renaissance Images

January 24th, 2008
12:00pm – 2:00pm
USC’s Bovard AuditoriumFor General Information Contact: Cynthia B

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Last updated: Monday, January 14, 2008