GoCertify Remembers Martin Luther King Jr.

Today is a holiday in the United States that honors Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights leader who dedicated his adult years to ending racial inequality. Dr. King focused his work on the racial divide in the United States, but his wise words have universal application. You don't have to be an American to appreciate the profound wisdom of a statement like, "The time is always right to do what is right."

Martin Luther King Jr. died April 4, 1968 at the tragically young age of 39, shot by an assassin at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. The federal holiday that commemorates his life and legacy was created during President Ronald Reagan's first term in office and formally assigned to the third Monday in January in 1992 under President George H.W. Bush. For the edification of our readers and in honor of Dr. King, GoCertify offers this short quiz:

NOTE: To view last year's quiz, click here.

1) How did Martin Luther King Jr. write his landmark "Letter from Birmingham Jail"?

2) Name the popular rock ballad, released in September 1984, that was written in tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.

3) A three-time Grammy nominee in the category of "Best Spoken Word Recording," Martin Luther King Jr. won a posthumous Grammy for which address?

4) Who was the first person to administer first aid to Martin Luther King Jr. following his ultimately fatal shooting at the Lorraine Motel?

5) Which unlikely figure came to the defense of convicted King assassin James Earl Ray one year prior to Ray's death, while incarcerated, at age 70?

6) Martin Luther King Jr. was an early advocate of which key theoretical social program endorsed by a fringe 2020 contender for the Democratic presidential nomination?

7) Which individual did Martin Luther King Jr. recommend to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for 1967?

8) What was the name of the NSA operation that targeted Martin Luther King Jr. and Muhammad Ali, along with other leading U.S. citizens, for publicly expressing opposition to the Vietnam War?

9) What happened to the original typewritten copy of Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech?

10) Which U.S. state was the last to formally observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

(See answers on next page.)

1) King composed the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" while incarcerated, writing in the margins of newspaper pages and on toilet paper. The "pages" of the letter were smuggled out of his jail cell by Clarence Jones, who assigned a 17-year-old secretary to compile King's scribblings into a single document.

2) The song "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by Irish band U2 was written in tribute to King. Singer Bono felt rushed in composing the lyrics and later described the song as being "just a load of vowel sounds ganging up on a great man."

3) "Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam" was awarded the spoken word Grammy in 1971. The other two nominated recordings are "I Have a Dream," and "We Shall Overcome (The March on Washington, August 28, 1963)."

4) Undercover police officer Marrell McCollough, later employed by the CIA, was present at the time of King's shooting and was the first person to attempt first aid. King died at St. Joseph's Hospital an hour after being shot.

5) Dexter Scott King. Martin Luther King Jr.'s second son visited Ray in prison and publicly urged, on behalf of King Jr.'s family, that Ray be granted a new trial.

CertMag has the day off in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.6) A noted advocate for the poor, King supported the creation of a "guaranteed basic income." A longstanding concept among political theorists, the idea has been popularized in recent months by Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang.

7) Th�ch Nh?t H?nh, a Buddhist and Vietnamese activist who filled teaching appointments in the United States as Princeton University and Columbia University. In his formal nomination, King, himself a Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1964), said "I do not personally know anyone more worthy of (this prize) than this gentle monk from Vietnam."

8) Minaret. The NSA later disavowed the operation, going so far as to conclude that it may have been conducted illegally.

9) King gave the original copy of the speech to then-26-year-old George Raveling, a former basketball star who became a last-minute security volunteer the day before the speech was given. Immediately after the speech concluded, Raveling approached King and asked whether he could have the typewritten copy of the speech, which King promptly gave him. Raveling, later a successful college basketball coach, still has the speech in his possession.

10) Utah. In 2000, Utah changed its former observance of "Human Rights Day" to formally align with the other 49 U.S. states. That same year, South Carolina became the last state to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a paid holiday for all state employees.