Martin Luther King, Jr., School (Middle)
77 Lawrence Avenue, Dorchester
Built 1937
Funk & Wilcox, Architects
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) has become an American hero of national proportions, transcending all particular categories. Starting his career as a Baptist minister in the Dexter Avenue Church in Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. King became the recognized leader of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950’s and 1960’s. His assassination in April 1968 produced a profound shcok to the entire American people. It was especially fitting that Boston should memorialize his name by designating a school as the Martin Luther King, Jr., Middle School.. While studying for a doctorate at Boston University, he met his future wife, Coretta Scott, a student at the New England Conservatory of Music. As Coretta King, she became his active and inspring co-worker and has carried on his mission with diligence, dignity and intelligence. Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 which adds another distinction to the list of names of Bsoton’s schools. This school was originally named for Patrick T. Campbell who gave the Boston School System many years of disinguished service as headmaster of the Boston Latin School and as Superintendent of Schools. When the School Department constructed the Education Resource Center on Dorchester Avenue, it seemed appropriate to assign the Campbell name to the new facility. Then the former Campbell School was renamed in 1968 for the recently assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr.
Source:
What’s In a Name? Names of Boston’s Schools: Their Origin. Boston: School Volunteers for Boston and the Boston Public Schools, 1980.