Actually, there is a striking connection between Martin Luther King Jr and John Chilembwe:
1. The President of Virginia Theological College at the time Chilembwe studied at the college was Gregory Hayes. Gregory Hayes championed the philosophy of Self-help as a tool to overcome oppression.
He interacted with Chilembwe and their names appear as founding members of the African Development Society which Gregory Hayes established while Chilembwe was studying at the College.
2. Reverend Vernon Johns came to study at Virginia Theological College after Chilembwe left. Vernon Johns was heavily influenced or rather inspired by Gregory Hayes.
Vernon Johns would later become a mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. In fact, Martin Luther King Jr succeeded Vernon Johns as resident pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama in 1953.
# Lost History Foundation