Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929. His father was the assistant pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and his grandfather on his mother's side was the pastor. This church was one of the largest Negro churches in the city.

As a boy Martin was called M. L. by his family and friends. He began early to see the ill effects of racial segregation, particularly in schools, business establishments, and buses. Once in a shoe store, he and his father were asked to move out of seats near the front, because they were reserved for whites.

M. L. learned early to take insults without becoming angry. He avoided fights and thought that disagreements should be settled by argument rather than by physical prowess. In school he manifested particular interest in Negro history and Negro literature. He demonstrated great leadership with his classmates. 

While M. L. was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, he decided to enter the ministry. He graduated from Morehouse and entered Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. While there he earned a scholarship which enabled him to enter Boston University and obtain his Ph. D. degree.

After young Dr. King graduated from Boston University, he became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. A few years later he joined his father in Atlanta as assistant pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. Next he succeeded his father as pastor of this prominent church.

While Dr. King was pastor in Montgomery, he helped to lead a Negro boycott on riding the city buses. Later he participated in an anti-segregation demonstration in Birmingham, Alabama. In these and other demonstrations he proclaimed the use of nonviolent means of combating segregation.

Early in his career, he helped to found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which was organized chiefly to promote equal rights for Negroes. In 1963 he delivered a famous speech, "I Have a dream," during a demonstration in Washington, D. C. In 1964 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In writing this book, the author has provided a stirring account of Dr. King's life. Dharathula Millender is a Negro librarian and author, already widely known for her Crispus Attucks: Boy of Valor, published in the Childhood of Famous Americans Series. In this latest book she has clearly shown why and how Dr. King became a great national leader.

From the dust jacket