Early life

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta Georgia. At first, he was known as Michael, after his father but in 1934 his father changed his name and his sons name to Martin Luther after the German leader of the protestant Reformation in the 16th century. Although he grew up in a loving home there were definitely some tensions going on. His strong willed and strict father dominated the household, Martin Sr. his father had struggled for his education and to become the pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, so he intended that Martin Luther, his older sister Christine, and his younger brother Alfred Daniel had an easier path through life. Martin Sr. always demanded good behavior and hard work, so he beat his children if he thought they had done something wrong. Martin Luther King had two close women who basically helped him through anything he encountered, the first women was his mother, Alberta, whose father had been the previous pastor of Ebenezer Church, she was known for her gentle personality and the women who lived under her husbands shadow. The other women were his maternal grandmother, she was really warm and caring, and Martin Luther had a special relationship with her.