Born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, Michael King Jr. was the middle child of Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. Martin Jr.'s grandfather, A.D. Williams, a minister, moved to Alana in 1893 and took over Ebenezer Baptist Church, a struggling church with a population of 13. he later married Jennie Parks and Alberta was his only surviving child. King Sr. came from a poor family of sharecroppers. He married Alberta in 1926 and they moved to A.D. Williams' house in Atlanta. On Williams' land, King Sr. took over as pastor at the Baptist church. Along with Williams, King Sr. also became a successful pastor. His name, Martin Luther King Sr., comes from Martin Luther, the leader of the German Protestant region. Martin Jr. has two siblings, an older sister, Willie Christine, and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King. The King's home was a loving and safe environment. Martin Sr. was the "bad" parent and always disciplined the children, while Mrs. King was the opposite. Both parents got very tired, but there was no way to hide the racism and segregation in their lives. King Sr. fought against racial prejudice because he saw racism and segregation as “an affront to the will of God.” Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayMartin Luther King Jr. attended public school at age 5 in Atlanta. In May 1936 he was baptized, but this event had little or no effect on him. When he was at Young's, at age 12, his grandmother, Jennie, died of a heart attack. When Jennie died, King Jr. was out without his parents' permission and was so distraught by the news that he attempted suicide by jumping out of his two-story home. He enrolled at Morehouse College in Atlanta at the age of 15. During his time in high school, he drifted away from religion and didn't care much about it, even though his family was devoted to and worshiped God. To his father's dismay, he decided not to enter the ministry. However, in his senior year, Martin took a Bible study course and was able to renew his faith and began considering a career in ministry. Martin Luther King Jr. continued to study hard and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Morehouse College and was able to attend Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. Even as a seminarian he excelled and was first in his class in 1951. He was also elected president of the student body. Going against his father again, in college he became a partner and began drinking beer, playing pool and became involved with a white woman and went through very difficult times before he was able to stop. However, he was still able to earn a scholarship for university studies. Fortunately, King Jr. had the privilege of studying with Morehouse College President Benjamin E. Mays. Mays had a huge impact on King's spiritual development.