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Martin Luther King was born in
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At age 15 King begins his freshman year at Morehouse College in Atlanta. He originally studies medicine and law but later decides to enter the ministry
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Graduates from Morehouse College in Atlanta
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Graduates from Crozer Theological Seminary
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King and Coretta Scott are married at the Scott home near Marion, Alabama.
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King begins his pastorate at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
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Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to vacate her seat and move to the rear of a city bus in Montgomery to make way for a white passenger. Jo Ann Robinson and other Women’s Political Council members mimeograph thousands of leaflets calling for a one-day boycott of the city’s buses on Monday, 5 December.
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Montgomery City Lines resumes full service on all routes. King is among the first passengers to ride the buses in an integrated fashion.
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King helps establish the SCLC to coordinate nonviolent protests across the South.
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During the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, King delivers his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial.
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King receives the Nobel Peace Prize for his commitment to achieving civil rights through nonviolent action.
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King leads peaceful marches in Alabama to protest racial discrimination in voting, helping to secure the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
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King publicly speaks out against the Vietnam War, expanding his message to include peace and economic justice.
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King is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. His death sparks mourning and protests across the nation.
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The United States establishes a national holiday — Martin Luther King Jr. Day — to honor his legacy of peace and equality.