A couple of years ago , I asked civil rights leader and former ambassador to the U.N. Andrew Young to tell me something about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that most people did not know . Young thought for a moment about the more personal side of his mentor and confidant . He said that King liked eating catfish , was quite a jokester and enjoyed laughing with friends . Among other things , King was an avid basketball player and a crafty passer with a great sense of the court . He could drive and shoot with both hands because he was ambidextrous . Young 's depiction of his mentor as a joking hoopster reminded me of an important factor we often overlook when considering King 's civil rights legacy : he was very young when he changed the world . Most people in their 20s struggle with dreams , doubts and career choices . In King 's mid-20s , he was pastoring a church , co-founding the Southern Christian Leadership Conference , leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott and receiving countless death threats . By his 30s , King was leading the monumental March on Washington and winning the Nobel Peace Prize . Clearly , King 's youth was more of a catalyst than liability . In his cult classic book , `` Outliers , '' Malcolm Gladwell discussed how birth dates and timing were as crucial factors as talent and tenacity in forging the successful careers of athletes , business tycoons , technology innovators and other leaders . For example , Gladwell argued that had Bill Gates been born just 10 years earlier , there would have been no Microsoft . Through a Gladwellian perspective , then , if King had been born 10 years earlier , there might not have been a Montgomery bus boycott . An older King might have been far too entrenched in black Baptist denominational politics or invested in clerical careerism to put everything on the line and lead a risky fringe boycott . His kids would have been older , his practical needs would have been greater and perhaps his judgments would have been more conservative , resembling the numerous middle-aged black Baptist preachers who had opposed activist strategies in favor of a less confrontational approach toward gradual reform in the civil rights movement . Similarly , young King 's moral and spiritual discourse was the product of a malleable mind fresh out of graduate school , not the kind of predictable theorizing you would expect to see in an older preacher 's cultural toolkit . Young King synthesized Henry Thoreau 's treatise on civil disobedience , Howard Thurman 's theological philosophy , Mahatma Gandhi 's Satyagraha and the Old Testament 's views of justice to form a personal vision and tactic that awakened the moral consciousness of the nation . It 's fortunate for us that King was not a middle-aged pastor when the moment in history demanded transformational leadership . He was just a young , fearless and somewhat naive pastor in Montgomery , Alabama . We can presume that the civil rights movement shaped King as much as he shaped the movement . With youth and inexperience on his side , young King had the improvisational space to carve out a movement philosophy and strategy that has been replicated many times over where people challenge oppressive governments . As we commemorate the birthday of our seminal civil rights leader , we should take some time out to remember that the same King who changed the course of history started out like you and me . He liked playing basketball and joking with friends . He was young and had fire in his heart . King 's legacy should inspire our youth to step up and exert the visionary leadership that will help guide us through our era of change and uncertainties . Tenured scholars , contentious politicians and fat-cat business executives are too cynical , comfortable and conservative to do anything . It 's up to our wide-eyed students . And they should remember that youth is not an impediment ; rather , it 's the seed that can bring forth a better future . Just look at the young King . Join CNN Opinion on Facebook and follow updates on Twitter .
Martin Luther King Jr. was young when he changed the world . The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is seen in a photo taken on March 4, 1968. Had King been born 10 years earlier , there might not have been a bus boycott . He says that youth was a catalyst for King 's leadership . Lee : Our youth should look to the civil rights leader for inspiration .