He was an excellent pupil and learning came easy to him. With 15 years of age he went to Moorehouse College where he was known for his hard work. Here it was where he formed his wish to become a minister like his father. His wish was not born out of admiration to his father but out of his deep interest in social problems and social justice.
After graduating from Morehouse College he enters Crozer Theological Seminaries at age 19. After he was ordained as minister in 1951 he goes to Boston for graduate studies. Here he meets Coretta Smith whom he marries in 1953. With her he returns to Montgomery Alabama the same year after the graduation.
In Boston he had lived for the first time in a society that did not have racial segregation. His wife Coretta did not like the idea to go back to the South, but finally agreed when Martin Luther King ensured her that this would we only temporary. He also enjoyed the less troublesome North East of the United States.
In the upcoming years, when Martin grew into the leader of the black movement, Coretta supported him fully and they did not return to their original wish to settle in the North East.
Four children were born to Dr. and Mrs. King:
Yolanda Denise (November 17, 1955 Montgomery, Alabama)
Martin Luther III (October 23, 1957 Montgomery, Alabama)
Dexter Scott (January 30, 1961 Atlanta, Georgia)
Bernice Albertine (March 28, 1963 Atlanta, Georgia)