- Martin Luther King Jr. was born Michael King Jr., but his father, a pastor, changed both names to Martin in honor of a German Protestant leader (Source: History.com)
- King was a gifted student who skipped ninth and eleventh grades in high school. He went on to attend Morehouse College at the age of 15 (Source: History.com).
- King was an avid baseball fan and even considered becoming a professional player before becoming a minister. He also considered Jackie Robinson the "father of the modern civil rights movement (Source: The Martin Luther King Research and Education Institute).
- King was not the original leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955, and the boycott began the next day, with Jo Ann Robinson as the leader of the Montgomery Women's Political Council. King was elected the boycott's leader by its leaders on December 5th (Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture).
- King was arrested nearly 30 times for his Civil Rights Activism (Source: History.com).
- King's "I Have a Dream" speech was not the first time he delivered that message; he previously gave a version of it in Detroit and NYC before the famous March on Washington(Source: History.com).
- King was Time magazine's Man of the Year in 1963 (Source: The Martin Luther King Research and Education Institute).
- King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, at 35, making him the youngest to receive the award. Malala Yousafzai has since become the youngest when she won it at 17 (Source: The Nobel Prize).
- King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee (Source: The Martin Luther King Jr Research and Education Institute).
- The campaign to make Dr. King's birthday a national holiday began four days after his assassination when Rep. John Conyers brought it to the floor of congress (Source: History.com).
Jan. 16, 2023
Ten Things You May Have Not Known About Martin Luther King Jr.
Dominic Lawson
Podcast Creator & Host
On November 1, 2016 I created The Startup Life Podcast, giving our audience the edge it needs in building their businesses and climbing the corporate ladder. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Marc Randolph (Co-Founder & First CEO of Netflix), Tom Golisano (Founder & Chairman of Paychex), and others.
I joined the Meadows Behavioral Healthcare family in 2021 as a podcast producer, editor, and host. Responsible for cultivating a diverse slate of guests ranging from mental health experts to addiction recovery professionals and beyond, he enjoys the challenge of meeting the audience's expectations. I host the long-running series Beyond Theory podcast that brings you in-depth conversations with firsthand insights from the people on the front lines of mental health and addiction recovery. On April 26th 2022, we launched the Recovery Replay, a first of its kind podcast journaling a personal story of recovery from 3 different perspectives.
On February 1st 2022, I launched the Black Is America podcast highlighting little-known African American figures and other stories.
I became a member of the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts (November 2022)
Speaking Engagements:
SXSW
University of Memphis
International Paper
Awards:
Black Is America
2022 Communicator Award - Writing (Gold)
2022 Communicator Award - Storytelling (Gold)
2022 Communicator Award - Host (Gold)
2022 Communicator Award - Documentary Episode: Lt. John Fox (Silver)
2022 w3 Award - Gene… Read More
Welcome to Black History Month
From slavery's chains to Civil Rights gains, Black history tells a story of pain. But through it all, a people strong, With courage, hope, and spirit long. From cotton fields to corporate deals, We've come so far, but still we feel The weight …
Have You Heard of Captain Aaron Fisher?
Excerpt from Lt. John Fox: An All-American Hero Dominic Lawson (11:36): And, boy, was it worth it because John Fox was about to get quite the mentor at Wilberforce. Let's go back to Mr. Westmoreland for a second because around the same time …
Listen On
Support On
