Morehouse King Collection

Background Information
LEGACY: A FAMILY TRADITION

Martin Luther King Jr. is a member of a long line of King men who were drawn to the excellent education steeped with moral development that Morehouse College offers.

• Dr. Adam Daniel Williams, grandfather, class of 1898, Atlanta Baptist College (now known as Morehouse College)
• Dr. Martin Luther King Sr., father, class of 1930
• The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., class of 1948
• The Rev. A.D. Williams King, brother, class of 1960
• Martin Luther King III, son, class of 1979
• Dexter King, son (attended 1979 to 1984)

CHARACTER: “THE GOAL OF A TRUE EDUCATION”
Morehouse was fertile ground for the young Martin Luther King Jr., who entered the college as an early-admission student in 1944 at the age of 15. It was on the grounds of the only college for African American men that he met great social activists, thinkers, theologians and educators who would become mentors.

Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, the Morehouse president who is considered the architect of the College’s reputation for excellence, proved to be an incomparable inspiration to King, as well as to the numerous students who came through Morehouse during his tenure. Mays, in his weekly chapel addresses and weekly newspaper columns, urged Morehouse men to be “sensitive to the wrongs, the sufferings, and the injustices of society” and to “accept responsibility for correcting these ills.”

Some outstanding professors also shaped the man who would one day be one of the world’s most renowned civil and human rights leader. As a sociology major, King was introduced to the problem of segregation by department chair Dr. Walter P. Chivers. Dr. George D. Kelsey, director of the School of Religion, inspired him to think beyond his early fundamentalist instruction regarding the Bible and theology. The influence of these incredible men undoubtedly led King to abandon his pursuit of law and medicine and, instead, enter the ministry.

Four years later, as King finished his final year at Morehouse, it was evident that he had transformed into the leader he was destined to become when he wrote in the student publication, The Maroon Tiger: “We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”

LEADERSHIP: LINKING GREAT MINDS
King continued his education at Crozer Theological Seminary and at Boston University’s School of Theology, where he earned a doctorate in systematic theology. But it was through the mentors, professors and alumni at Morehouse College that King was linked to the teachings, principles, methods of social reform and support that marked his ascent to becoming a civil rights icon.

Benjamin E. Mays introduced him to the teachings of the Indian social reformer Mahatma Gandhi and his method of non-violent protest. His favorite professor, George D. Kelsey, set an example of what an ideal minister could be, someone who could combine the tradition of religion with the issues faced in the modern world. Professor Samuel W. Williams exposed him to Henry David Thoreau’s “Essay on Civil Disobedience.” King said he read the essay several times, transfixed by the idea of “refusing to cooperate with an evil system.”

Each of these men helped shaped the King who would transform a nation.