Samuel L. Jackson: This Morehouse man has direct ties to both Martin Luther King Jr. and Martin Luther King Sr.
The most prolific actor in Hollywood history was an usher for the funeral of civil rights legend MLK after his assassination in April of 1968. Then, just three years later, Jackson and other Morehouse students held MLK Sr. and others captive inside the famed HBCU demanding a more Afrocentric curriculum. Jackson was summarily kicked out of school, but was readmitted a few years later and finished his degree in acting at the same school that Spike Lee attended. The two connected up on a number of films in the late 80’s, most notably Do the Right Thing and especially Jungle Fever, where his riveting role as a crack addict launched his career into the stratosphere.