When Martin Luther King Jr was 8 years old a woman in a department store lunged at him and slapped him You stepped on my foot she yelled Martin didn't know the angry white woman standing in front of him but he stayed calm Although he was shocked he simply walked away Martin was a child who learned to overcome difficulties without violence Like his mother he was gentle and caring Like his father he was determined and fearless Martin drew on these childhood traits as he grew up He became a leader admired by millions of people around the world 2
It was January 15 1929 In the hallway outside his bedroom Martin Luther King Sr nervously paced His family called him Daddy King Inside the bedroom his wife was giving birth Daddy King leaped with joy when he found out that the baby was a boy No one knew then that this small child would become a great man 4
