Timeline

 Joachim Prinz is born in Burkhardsorf, Germany. The town is so tiny, it’s not even on the map. The Prinz family is the only Jewish family in town.

Michael King, Jr. is born in Atlanta, Georgia. His dad is the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Joachim is expelled from Germany and comes to Newark, NJ. He becomes the rabbi at Temple B’nai Abraham in 1939.

Joachim becomes president of the American Jewish Congress, an organization that supports the civil rights movement. 

Joachim and Martin are among the civil right leaders who speak with President John F Kennedy about changing the unfair laws that hurt African Americans, but Kennedy is assassinated soon after.  

Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated on April 4th in Memphis, Tennessee. Four days later, Joachim participates in a protest march in Martin’s memory in Memphis. 

Joachim’s family moves to Oppeln, a bigger town with more Jews, better schools, and more modern facilities. Four years later, his mother dies.

Hitler and the Nazi party start to make life difficult for the Jews in Germany. Jews are not allowed to go to school with other Germans, own businesses, vote or do many things that other Germans could do. Joachim warns the Jews to leave Germany.

Martin becomes an ordained minister in the Baptist Church before graduating from college. He also earns a PhD in Systematic Theology from Boston University in 1955.

On January 17th, Joachim invites Martin to speak at a Friday night service at his synagogue in Newark. Two thousand people showed up to hear Reverend King speak. It was very unusual for a black minister to speak at a synagogue.

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act which outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. It outlaws unfair voter registration requirements, separate schools for black and white children, employment discrimination, and separate areas for blacks and whites in public areas.   

President Ronald Reagan signs a bill creating a federal holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.. 

At age 24, Joachim becomes the youngest rabbi in Germany. He is very popular because of his friendliness and the way he teaches Jews how the Torah is relevant to their lives. He also earns a PhD in Philosophy.

Michael’s father changes his son’s name to Martin Luther King, Jr., in honor of Martin Luther, a German monk who began the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s. 

Martin leads the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. It was the first of dozens of peaceful boycotts, sit-ins and demonstrations he helped to organize and support during his lifetime.

Eight months later, Martin and Joachim are the key speakers at the March on Washington on August 28th. Over 250,000 people gather on the Washington mall and millions more watch the speeches on TV. 

Some states and counties find ways to keep black Americans from voting even though the Civil Rights Act prohibited it. President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to make it harder for those states and counties to deprive black people of their right to vote.

 Joachim Prinz dies in his sleep at his home in Newark, NJ.