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MLK Birthday Today, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Jan 18

by Jordan Yerman | January 15, 2010 at 09:45 am

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Today is Martin Luther King Jr's (MLK) birthday. The legendary civil rights activist would have been 81 years old. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia, the son of a Baptist minister. MLK's birthday is today, but Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is observed on the third Monday in January- this year, MLK Day 2010 on January 18.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was actually born Michael King Jr: his father changed both his and his son's names in honor of German Protestant leader Martin Luther, who started the Protestant Reformation.

Martin Luther King, Jr. grew up to enter the clergy, and also to lead sweeping civil rights movements in the US during the 1950s and early 1960s, such as teh Montgomery Bus Boycott to end segregation on Alabama public transportation. We all know the "I Have A Dream" speech, but Dr. King's work went much further: that speech was the culmination of a massive march on Washington, DC to demand equal rights for African Americans during a time when only integration was on the set of Star Trek. Martin Luther King, Jr. became the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace prize in 1964.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot at 6:01 p.m. on April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Hospital shortly afterwards.

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Uwe Paschen

at 09:48 on January 15th, 2010

He is one of those men and woman that we should never forget.

Karen Hatter

at 14:31 on January 15th, 2010

A very, nice piece, Jordan.

Thank you for including a link to my earlier contribution here.

At the time when NBC's Star Trek aired the episode entitled Plato's Stepchildren, television's first interracial kiss, in 1968, between Nichelle Nichols' character Lt. Uhura and William Shatner's Capt. Kirk, the scene required much nuanced choreography, with executives at NBC insisting the actors' lips not touch during the kiss.

Ms. Nichols says Dr. King encouraged her to continue on the show when she became discouraged her role was not substantive.

Interestingly enough, the first African American female astronaut, Mae Jemison, who would have been a pre teen when the show aired, drew inspiration from Nichelle Nichols' Star Trek role.