Black History

Little-Known Facts about MLK

NNPA NEWSWIRE — As the nation commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday, some may find interesting tidbits of little-known or talked about facts and details of the slain civil rights champion.

Published

6 years ago

January 20, 2019

Oakland Post

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

As the nation commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday, some may find interesting tidbits of little-known or talked about facts and details of the slain civil rights champion.

When he was born on Jan. 15, 1929, King’s name at birth was actually was Michael.

His father, a pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church (where the younger King would later also pastor), traveled to Germany and “was inspired by the teachings of the leader of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther,” recalled Michael Hart, a Christian conservative and host of the syndicated “Michael Hart Show.”

“As a result, King Sr. changed his own name as well as that of his 5-year-old son,” Hart said, stating a fact backed by multiple published records.

Not much was made of the fact that King was a very gifted student which allowed him to skip grades 9 and 12 before enrolling in Morehouse College at the age of 15, Hart added.

King’s father and maternal grandfather also attended Morehouse.

“Although King was the son, grandson and great grandson of Baptist ministers, he initially had no desire to enter the ministry,” Hart said.

Another lesser-known fact about King centers on his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. When he delivered that monumental and historic dissertation in Washington, it wasn’t the first time.

The civil rights leader first delivered that speech during the “Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom” on May 17, 1957. At the time, King also delivered his first national address on voting rights before a crowd estimated between 15,000 and 30,000.

King’s assassination in Memphis was not the first attempt on his life.

He narrowly escaped an attempt a decade before on Sept. 20, 1958 in Harlem where he was signing copies his new book, “Stride Toward Freedom.”

Izola Ware Curry approached King and asked if he was Martin Luther King Jr. After he said yes, Curry responded that, “I’ve been looking for you for five years,” and plunged a seven-inch letter opener into King’s chest.

The tip of the blade came to rest alongside his aorta, and King underwent hours of emergency surgery. Surgeons later told King that just one sneeze could have punctured the aorta and killed him.

King was in Memphis in April 1968 to support the strike of the city’s black sanitation workers, and in a speech on the night before his assassination, he told an audience at Mason Temple Church:

“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now … I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you but I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

Less than 24 hours later on April 4,1968 at 6:01 pm Central time as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, King was shot and killed by James Earl Ray.

King would have been 90 this year.

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Activism

The Best Advice for Raising Children: Discipline That Makes Sense

In his book Developing Positive Self Images and Discipline in Black Children, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu suggests that primary aims for socializing Black children should be: establishing goals related to God and the church; familiarizing children with religious texts like the Bible or Quran; educating them of Black culture like Khemetic (Egyptian) Civilization; enlightening them about Black leaders like Malcolm X and Sojourner Truth; and teaching them to strive to be employers, not employees.

Published

2 days ago

May 13, 2025

Oakland Post

Headshot of Dr. William A. Thomas. Photo courtesy of Dr. William A. Thomas.

By William A. Thomas, Ph.D.

In many African societies, the primary aim of socialization is to raise children to be socially responsible and eventually provide economic support to their parents and extended families. Ghanaian philosopher Kwame Gyekye taught that children are raised to be respectful of the wishes of their parents and extended adult family members.

In his book Developing Positive Self Images and Discipline in Black Children, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu suggests that primary aims for socializing Black children should be: establishing goals related to God and the church; familiarizing children with religious texts like the Bible or Quran; educating them of Black culture like Khemetic (Egyptian) Civilization; enlightening them about Black leaders like Malcolm X and Sojourner Truth; and teaching them to strive to be employers, not employees.

Effective disciplinary strategies appropriate to a child’s age and development teach them to regulate their behavior; keep them from harm; enhance their cognitive, social, and emotional executive functioning skills; and reinforce the behavioral patterns taught by their parents and caregivers.

Below are some specific guidelines for disciplining children.

Listen to what children are talking about with interest and show them you understand their feelings. Remember, children mirror and learn about their emotional selves by hearing their feelings reflected back to them. Staying on target also means avoiding labels. When children fail to do what is expected, discussing it is helpful rather than saying how stubborn, lazy, dumb, or bad they are. By the same token, more positive labels can be helpful.

Dependability is another essential component of the discipline process. When parents are dependable, their children learn what to expect and are helped to feel secure. When parents are consistent, children learn to trust, that is, predict their parents’ behaviors with certainty. A child thinks, “When I spill something, I will always be asked to wipe it up.” A child thinks, “If I use foul language, I will always be corrected.” A child thinks, “If I take something that doesn’t belong to me, I will always have to give it back.” The ability to predict with certainty leads children to rely on their parents and the village/community in which they live. Children feel safe when they know what to expect.

Conclusions

It takes a village/community to raise the divine gift that is the Black child. Parents look to therapists for guidance concerning a variety of parenting issues, including discipline. Keep in mind that evidence suggests that corporal punishment is both ineffective in the long term and associated with cognitive and mental health disorders. When parents want guidance about the use of spanking, a child therapist can explore parental feelings, help them better define the goals of discipline, and offer specific behavior management strategies. In addition to providing appropriate education to families, the Bay Area Association of Black Psychologists (Bay ABPsi) can refer them to community resources, like parenting groups and classes.

About the Author

Dr. Thomas is a licensed clinical psychologist with a private practice in the SF/Oakland Bay Area and Beaumont. He is a member of Bay ABPsi, a healing resource committed to providing the Post Newspaper readership with monthly discussions about critical issues in Black Mental Health. Readers are welcome to join us at our monthly chapter meetings every 3^rd Saturday via Zoom and contact us at bayareaabpsi@gmail.com.