How much do you know about Martin Luther King Jr.?– 7 questions to check your knowledge

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. giving a spech
Photo credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images via abcnews.go.com

Today is the day that honor’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., slain civil rights leader. Congressman John Conyers from Michigan was the first to introduce legislation for a commemorative holiday in 1968, four days after King’s assassination. It was 15 years later in 1983 that Congress passed the holiday legislation which was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan (www.factmonster.com/spot/mlkhistory1.html).

During homework hour at an afterschool program I work, youth were asked to write a paragraph on things they knew about Dr. King. Most of the children could identify at least two things about Dr. King and MLK Day. We turned the activity into a game of facts and trivia. Here are facts we found to share with the youth:

·         In 1973 Illinois was the first state to adopt MLK Day as a state holiday.

·         By 1989 44 states adopted MLK Day as a state holiday.

·         In 1991 the NFL made the decision to move the 1993 Super Bowl site from Phoenix, AZ to Pasadena, CA, because of a MLK Day boycott.

This photo is a first graders interpretation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - by Jalin W.

Below are trivia questions to test your knowledge:

      1.      In what city was Martin Luther King Jr. born?

A.      Atlanta

B.      Albany

C.      Austin

D.     Annapolis

2.      How old was King when he was assassinated?

A.      38

B.      39

C.      40

D.     42

3.      What year was King assassinated?

A.      1978

B.      1968

C.      1958

D.     1959

4.      In 1964 King won a prestigious prize. Which one was it?

A.      Pulitzer Prize

B.      Nobel Peace Prize

C.      The Pulitzer Prize

D.     The Congressional Medal of Honor

5.      Whose techniques did King usually follow?

A.      Mohandas K. Gandhi

B.      Malcolm X

C.      Martin Luther King Sr.

D.     Abraham Lincoln

6.      King led an important protest against what on April 3, 1968?

A.      Slavery

B.      Poverty

C.      Discrimination

D.     Starvation in India

7.      What was the first Civil Rights action King was involved in?

A.      March on Washington

B.      “I Have a Dream” speech

C.      Montgomery Bus Boycott

D.     Leading a March against discrimination

Are you ready to check your answers?

1.      A

2.      B

3.      B

4.      B

5.      A

6.      B

7.      C

Trivia questions were obtained from www.cyber/learning-world.com/nhhs/project/trivia1.html.

What facts or trivia would you add to this list?