Celebrate MARTIN LUTHER KING, JUNIOR.

Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. Born in Atlanta, King is best known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, inspired by his Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi.

King led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and in 1957 became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). With the SCLC, he led an unsuccessful 1962 struggle against segregation in Albany, Georgia, and helped organize the nonviolent 1963 protests in Birmingham, Alabama. He helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Many terms that pertain to King’s life and speeches can be made from the letters of his name. Each is Capitalized in the lexagrams below.

Some of the longer words in his name are HUMILIATION and INTEGRATION.
INTEGRATION, MEANING NO NEGRO HUMILIATION.

As an adaptation of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, consider these lexagrams.

TALKING OUTRIGHT ON THE RIGHT THING: OUTRAGE, ANGER AT A RIOT.
OUTRUN THE ANGER, LET MEN GAIN A LIGHT HEART TO ONE ANOTHER – GET ALONG.
THINK, HUMAN HEART! LET INNER LEARNING HEAL HATE.
NO MORE RIOTS! NO MORE JAIL! NO MORE HURT!
LET IT RING OUT! NEGRO MEN ARE LARGER, JOIN IN TRUTH, THE NEGRO ARE NOT ALONE.

In Memphis (TN), King was booked in a room at the Lorraine Motel. He was fatally shot by James Earl Ray at 6:01 p.m., April 4, 1968, as he stood on the motel’s second-floor balcony. The bullet entered through his right cheek, smashing his jaw, then traveled down his spinal cord before lodging in his shoulder. After emergency chest surgery, King died at St. Joseph’s Hospital at 7:05 p.m.

AT THE LORRAINE MOTEL A REMINGTON GUN TO  MUTILATE KING IN RIGHT NECK, JUGULAR

James Earl Ray’s middle name, EARL, is found in the letters of King’s name.

THE GREAT MARTIN LUTHER KING JUNIOR, GONE TO the ULTIMATE REALM; THE NATION MOURNING AN ANGEL TONIGHT

Learn More

The letters in a name or phrase can form many other words. Several descriptive lexagrams can be made from them and, when place together, can create a biographical perspective. A lexagram (or lexigram) is a form of wordplay where the letters in a name or phrase are shuffled to create new words. These new words make short statements that, ideally, describe the original term. For example, the word ASTRONOMICAL has letters to make the words STAR, SOLAR, and CORONA, as well as to create each word in the phrases AN ASTRAL SAILOR IN NASA and ROMANTIC MOONLIT MARTIAN CANALS. Look for where the letters in each word can be found in ASTRONOMICAL. To make a lexagram, find words hidden in the letters of your name or a short phrase, then use those terms to make sentences that describe the original name. To make it easy to read, the original phrase and any words found within it are CAPITALIZED.

When searching for words-within-words, shuffling the sequence of letters in the name or phrase is very helpful. While an online generator is great to quickly obtain a list of candidate words which are valid for lexagrams or anagrams, there is much fun to be found in searching for words yourself! Changing the sequence of the letters in a phrase give our brains a fresh perspective on the situation. New words will seem to jump out after simply re-arranging the letters into a new pattern. Rearrange the letters carefully and find new words. Continue exploring by studying the sequences of letters in this name.

Make your own lexagrams. Read about it and look for key words hidden in the letters of the phrase.