Martin Luther King, Jr. - Family

Martin Luther King, Jr., made history, but he was also transformed by his deep family roots in the African-American Baptist church, his formative experiences in his hometown of Atlanta, his theological studies, his varied models of religious and political leadership, and his extensive network of contacts in the peace and social justice movements of his time. Although King was only 39 at the time of his death, his life was remarkable for the ways it reflected and inspired so many of the twentieth century’s major intellectual, cultural, and political developments.

King flies to Atlanta, where a group of family friends convened by his father fails to dissuade him from returning to Montgomery. 

At Mount Vernon First Baptist Church in Newnan, Georgia, he participates in his brother A. D. King’s installation service.

King then attends a reception at the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, a co-sponsor of the visit. He later meets with India’s vice president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and attends a reception at the Quaker Centre. In the evening, King has dinner with Indian prime minister Jawarharlal Nehru at the Teen Murti Bhavan, Nehru’s residence.

Clark College Dean of Women Phoebe Burney is the Women’s Day speaker at Ebenezer. Coretta Scott King is the featured soloist at the morning service.

King, Sr., makes an extended tour of the western states following the National Baptist Sunday School and Young Peoples Union Congress in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Christine King receives her bachelor of arts degree in economics from Spelman College.

Coretta Scott King speaks and sings at a “Salute to Montgomery” concert in New York City, sponsored by In Friendship to benefit the MIA and other struggles in the South.

King, Sr., is elected first vice president of the Atlanta Baptist Ministers Union. 

King preaches at Dexter. In the evening Martin Luther King III is blessed during a service at the church.