The school was originally known as Eastern High School. It opened in 1901, with three teachers and 300 students, at the intersection of Mack Avenue and East Grand Boulevard.
History: Since 1968
Over the past twenty-six seasons, the Crusaders women's basketball program, coached by William Winfield, has appeared in eleven Michigan High School Athletic Association championship finals – winning on five occasions in 1985, 1990, 1991, 2003 and 2006. In 2006, ML King Jr. High School won the Detroit City League championship trophy in men's swimming and diving. In 2007, the King Crusaders, coached by Jim Reynolds, became the first team from the Detroit Public Secondary Schools Athletic League to win a MHSAA Football Championship. During 2008, King High School's marching band raised over $300,000 to perform at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. One of the largest components of the 2009 Detroit Public Schools' $500.5 million-dollar bond construction program was the MLK Project. At a cost of $46.4 million, the redeveloped Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School re-opened in September 2011. The school emphasizes a science, technology, engineering and mathematics curriculum. In 2012 Kettering High School closed, and some students were rezoned to King. In 2017, King was marked for closure by the State of Michigan due to its poor academic performance from 2014 to 2016. An agreement between the state and the Detroit Board of Education saved the school from closure.
Notable alumni
Anthony Adams, former NFL defensive tackle
Joe Altobelli All-City basketball, football and baseball player for Eastern Indians; he enjoyed several successful seasons of Major League Baseball as a player and as manager of 1983 World Series champion Baltimore Orioles.
John "Frenchy" Fuqua achieved collegiate football stardom as running back for Morgan State University, then played eight seasons with NFL's New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers; while with the Steelers, Fuqua become part of NFL lore as intended receiver for quarterback Terry Bradshaw's pass that sports historians refer to as the Immaculate Reception
Reggie Harding first-team Parade Magazine All-American in 1961; led Eastern to three consecutive Detroit Public School League basketball championships; three-time All-State selection, drafted out of high school by Detroit Pistons; played four seasons in the NBA
Ron LeFlore, Major League Baseball player for Detroit Tigers, two-time stolen-base champion zin 1978 and 1980; did not play baseball for high school or graduate
Bill Yearby won shot put event at 1962 MHSAA Track and Field Finals Upon graduation from EHS, Yearby became an All-American football player at the University of Michigan; he also played professionally with the New York Jets.
Coleman A. Young first served in State House of Representatives, later becoming a Michigan State Senator; Mayor of Detroit from 1974 to 1994, the first African-American; outspoken person who lobbied at all levels for City of Detroit
