Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School was originally named Eastern High School. The first school building for Eastern opened in 1901 at the intersection of Mack Avenue and East Grand Boulevard.[5]
In the fall of 1967 Eastern moved to a new building on East Lafayette and Mount Elliott,[5] and one year later was renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School, after the civil rights leader's assassination in April 1968. The mascot name was changed at the same time from the Indians to the Crusaders. The original Eastern High building was demolished in 1982.[5]
In 2009, Detroit Public Schools became the beneficiary of a $500.5 million, voter-approved federal bond package. At almost $53 million, the MLK project was one of the largest components of the package.[6] The redeveloped Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School re-opened in September 2011, with almost 200,000 square feet of new space, and 47,000 square feet of altered and redeveloped space. The project turned the facility into a school that emphasized a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curriculum.[6]
In 34 seasons (1984 to 2017), under Coach William Winfield, Jr., the Crusaders women's basketball program compiled 693 wins,[8] appeared in eleven Michigan High School Athletic Association championship finals (1985, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2016), winning the championship in 1985, 1990, 1991, 2003 and 2006.[9] Coach Winfield retired in 2018 due to illness, and died age 78 on March 13, 2021.[8]
In 2007, under Coach Jim Reynolds, the Crusaders football team became the first team from the Detroit Public Secondary Schools Athletic League to win a MHSAA Football Championship.[10] From 1989 to 2019, the King Crusaders appeared in seven Michigan High School Athletic Association championship games in four different divisions: 1989(A), 1990(AA), 2007(2), 2015(2), 2016(2), 2018(3), and 2019(2), winning the championship in 2007, 2015, 2016, and 2018.[11]
In 2006, King won the Detroit City League championship trophy in men's swimming and diving.[citation needed]
Reggie Harding (1961) first-team Parade Magazine All-American in 1961; led the Eastern Indians to three consecutive Detroit Public School League basketball championships; three-time All-State selection, drafted into the National Basketball Association out of high school by the Detroit Pistons; former basketball player for the Pistons & Chicago Bulls[17][18]
Lou Scott (1963) Olympian in the 1968 Summer Olympics & silver-medalist in the 1967 Pan American Games, one of America's top distance runners in 1960s. 1962 & 1963 Michigan State Champion in the mile, 1962 Michigan State Cross Country Champion for Eastern.[22][23]
Ron LeFlore (born 1948 - did not graduate), former Major League Baseball player for Detroit Tigers, two-time stolen-base champion in 1978 and 1980 [26]
^"Contact Us General Office of Housing & Residential LifeArchived 2015-07-10 at the Wayback Machine." Wayne State University. Retrieved on October 2, 2011. "Chatsworth Tower 630 Merrick Detroit, MI 48202" and "Helen L. DeRoy Apartments 5200 Anthony Wayne Drive Detroit, MI 48202" and "University Tower Apartments 4500 Cass Avenue Detroit, MI 48201"