THE KING FAMILY “One day I’m going to turn this world upside down.”

* Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by honoring his parents.

Dr. King’s work to end segregation created a seismic shift in American culture that is still deeply felt across our entire country, and the world. The change he inspired is reflected here too, in the diverse faces of the mothers and fathers who participate in this project.

What extraordinary people his mother and father must have been, to shape the mind and heart of the man who would become one of the most important figures of the 20th century.What an incredible sacrifice the King family made so others might live freely.

We’ve borrowed liberally from Wikipedia, and other sources, to write this profile (verbatim passages are identified by quotation marks). Our best source and one we recommend highly for children ages 7 and up is My Brother Martin, by Christine King Farris. This 2003 book, beautifully illustrated by Chris Soentpiet, is an endearing first-hand account written by Dr. King’s big sister (called ‘Willie’ by her family).

MOTHER   Alberta Christine Williams King was born on September 13, 1904, the only daughter of Reverend Adam Daniel Williams and Jenny Celeste Parks.

FATHER   Martin Luther King, Sr. was born Michael King on December 19, 1899, to James King and Delia Linsey. In 1934 he changed his name to Martin Luther, the admired German priest and professor of theology who initiated the Protestant Reformation.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS   Married on Thanksgiving Day in 1926.

NUMBER OF CHILDREN   Willie Christine King (born 1927), Martin Luther, Jr. (1929–1968), known as M.L. in the family, and a second son, Alfred Daniel Williams King (1930–1969), known as A.D.

DAY JOB(S)   “Martin’s mother attended high school at Spelman Seminary and obtained her teaching certificate at the Hampton Normal and Industrial Institute (now Hampton University) in 1924.” At the time, female teachers were not allowed to work while they were married and so she had to give up her job once they were married.

Mr. King Sr. moved from assistant pastor to pastor at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia after his father-in-law, the Rev. A.D. Williams, died suddenly in the spring of 1931. He would lead the church as pastor for four decades. Mr. King Sr. also became “a leader of the civil rights movement as the head of the NAACP chapter in Atlanta and of the Civic and Political League.”

As a pastors wife Mrs. King followed in her mother’s footsteps as a powerful presence in Ebenezer’s affairs. “Along with being the longtime church organist, she founded and trained the Ebenezer choir and served as organizer and president of the Ebenezer Woman’s Council from 1950 to 1962.”

HOW DID THE KINGS COMBINE WORK AND FAMILY?

Martin and his family lived in his maternal grandparent’s home, along with his mother’s sister, Ida, and he and his siblings enjoyed the love and support of an educated, middle class, extended family.  His childhood included piano lessons, church, books, toys and even two white boys as friends (the sons of the local grocer)— all in the safe-haven of their street, Auburn Avenue, and of their small town in Atlanta, Georgia, now called Sweet Auburn. Like so many American families then and now, Martin’s grandmother provided childcare while his parents worked:

From My Brother Martin:

“And although Daddy, who was an important minister, and Mother Dear, who was known far and wide as a musician, often had work that took them away from home, our grandmother was always there to take care of us.”

Martin’s family shielded him and his siblings from the racial injustice that lived around them for as long as they could but one day the grocer’s sons said they could no longer play together because, “A. D. and M.L. were Negroes.”

BEST PARENTING MOMENT

Ms. Ferris writes of her father’s constant tutoring, in his sermons and at the dinner table, of how to stand up to hatred and bigotry with tales of his own encounters with prejudice. She recounts his stories saying, “These stories were as nourishing as the food that was set before us.”

But being turned away by his playmates that day was a turning point in young Martin’s life. In the most moving part of the book, Mrs. King explains the mistreatment of black folk by white people to her children by saying, “Because they just don’t understand that everyone is the same, but someday, it will be better.”

To this, Ms. Ferris writes, her young brother replied, “Mother Dear, one day I’m going to turn this world upside down.”