Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, the second child of Martin Luther King, Sr, a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former school teacher. He grew to be, arguably, the most recognized participant in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. In 1964, he became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. He is honored by all who believe, as he did, that, "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Of her commission to create a body of work depicting moments of Dr. King's life focusing on his spirituality, artist Marlena Hebenstreit remarked:

Painting Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a daunting task. How could I bring to life a man whose story had been told a million times, who fathered the civil rights movement, who gave his life for racial equality? I spent a lot of time soul searching throughout this project. I wondered if I was really up to the task. “Should I be painting one of the most famous Civil Rights leaders in history?
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"Then, in some fantastic way, I began to build a relationship with King. Looking into his eyes, in hundreds of black and white photographs, I could see his joy, his courage, and the stress that came with the burden of caring so deeply. Getting to know King, I became inspired with ideas of how to portray him. I felt like I had his support, like he was cheering me on, giving me courage to depict his story through the gift of my art."