35 Interesting Facts About Martin Luther King Jr.

21-25 Martin Luther King Facts

21. In 1963, Billy Graham posted bail for Martin Luther King, Jr. to be released from jail during the civil rights protests in Birmingham. – Source

22. On the day of his assassination, Martin Luther King Jr. had a pillow fight in his motel room. – Source

23. There is a Martin Luther King site owned by a White Supremacist group. – Source

24. No one could call an ambulance when Martin Luther King Jr. was shot because the only one who could operate the switchboard saw the assassination happen and the shock led to her fatal heart attack. – Source

25. Martin Luther King’s speeches in Selma were written specifically for the film because Steven Spielberg owns the rights to the originals. – Source

26-30 Martin Luther King Facts

26. Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Manhattan, New York was shut down in 2005 after a history of poor academic performance and student violence. – Source

27. Martin Luther King Jr. convinced Nichelle Nichols to stay in her role on Star Trek because of the inspiration she had become to many other people. – Source

28. Malcolm X and possibly Martin Luther King Jr. were planning on bringing the US Government in front of the United Nations on charges of human rights violations against African Americans. – Source

29. Two weeks after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. Gregg Allman wrote a tribute song titled “God Rest His Soul”. – Source

30. The Family of Martin Luther King was paid more than $800,000 by the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation for the use of King’s image and words on the planned King memorial on Washington’s Mall. – Source

31-35 Martin Luther King Facts

31. There was a proposal to put a Bell in honor of MLK on the Confederate/KKK shrine at Stone Mountain as a reference to the line in the “I have a Dream” speech when he says “Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain in Georgia”. The proposal was rejected. – Source

32. Martin Luther King Jr. pushed his plate away and said “Nothing will taste right until I denounce this war,” after seeing the *Ramparts* photo essay which showed the Napalm Girl and Phan Thi Kim Phuc. – Source

33.Martin Luther King Jr. applied for a conceal carry gun permit because of constant death threats but was rejected. – Source

34. Martin Luther King’s thoughts on Nixon: “Nixon is a genius for convincing one that he is sincere. When you are close to Nixon he almost disarms you with his apparent sincerity. (…) I would conclude by saying that if Richard Nixon is not sincere, he is the most dangerous man in America.” – Source

35. When he died, Martin Luther King Jr. was planning a Poor People’s Campaign, demanding jobs, health care, and decent homes for the poor. He wanted protesters to march on Washington and stay until their demands were met. The protest began 5 weeks after his murder. – Source