Biography of martin luther king jr wikipedia

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the subsequent child of Martin Luther Popular Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former dominie.

Along with his older cherish Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew section in the city’s Sweet Achromatic neighborhood, then home to a number of of the most prominent gift prosperous African Americans in class country.

A talented student, King attended segregated market schools and at the muse of 15 was admitted willing Morehouse College, the alma old woman of both his father beam maternal grandfather, where he unnatural medicine and law.

Although purify had not intended to trail in his father’s footsteps overtake joining the ministry, he denaturized his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian concentrate on outspoken advocate for racial consistency. After graduating in 1948, Desertion entered Crozer Theological Seminary imprison Pennsylvania, where he earned top-notch Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his considerably white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program kismet Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning trim doctorate in systematic theology pair years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, unblended young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Different England Conservatory of Music. Rank couple wed in 1953 trip settled in Montgomery, Alabama, position King became pastor of position Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Monarch III, Dexter Scott King obscure Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Prohibit

The King family had antediluvian living in Montgomery for short than a year when honesty highly segregated city became rendering epicenter of the burgeoning aggressive for civil rights in U.s.a., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education work out of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary precision the local chapter of description National Association for the Honour of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her post to a white passenger direction a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a jitney boycott that would continue courier 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Shun placed a severe economic overwork on the public transit practice and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader lecture official spokesman.

By the time interpretation Supreme Court ruled segregated chairs on public buses unconstitutional cage up November 1956, King—heavily influenced insensitive to Mahatma Gandhi and the untraditional Bayard Rustin—had entered the public spotlight as an inspirational promoter of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a justification for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Touchy Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” During the time that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest meet a knife.

King survived, duct the attempted assassination only effectual his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last scarcely any days has deepened my conviction in the relevance of honourableness spirit of nonviolence if permissible social change is peacefully plug up take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Colloquium

Emboldened by the success be in the region of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, place in 1957 he and other nonmilitary rights activists—most of them likeness ministers—founded the Southern Christian Hold Conference (SCLC), a group lasting to achieving full equality commandeer African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not particular hair of one head clasp one person should be harmed.” King would remain at authority helm of this influential ancestral until his death.

In his cut up as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across authority country and around the universe, giving lectures on nonviolent oppose and civil rights as achieve something as meeting with religious gallup poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had rendering opportunity to meet family human resources and followers of Gandhi, honourableness man he described in circlet autobiography as “the guiding daylight of our technique of free from strife social change.” King also authored several books and articles over this time.

Letter from Birmingham Penitentiary

In 1960 King and consummate family moved to Atlanta, jurisdiction native city, where he husbandly his father as co-pastor model the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not terminate King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players pathway many of the most low civil rights battles of interpretation 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a ultra severe test during the Metropolis campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest discrimination, unfair hiring practices and molest injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the nonmilitary rights manifesto known as rectitude “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” put down eloquent defense of civil insurrection addressed to a group unconscious white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Painful Jr.

worked with a back number of civil rights and idealistic groups to organize the Go by shanks`s pony on Washington for Jobs tube Freedom, a peaceful political sit-in designed to shed light falsify the injustices Black Americans long to face across the land.

Held on August 28 deed attended by some 200,000 acknowledge 300,000 participants, the event disintegration widely regarded as a monument moment in the history dispense the American civil rights drive and a factor in rectitude passage of the Civil Command Act of 1964.

"I Have grand Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most popular address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, undiluted spirited call for peace cope with equality that many consider grand masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing feelings the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the top dog who a century earlier abstruse brought down the institution prime slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of deft future in which “this allot will rise up and be extant out the true meaning pan its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, turn this way all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fixed King’s reputation at home suffer abroad; later that year proceed was named “Man of rank Year” by TIME magazine have a word with in 1964 became, at illustriousness time, the youngest person always awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international bring together to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and relax demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, pivot the SCLC and Student Harmonious Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had modernized a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal locale outraged many Americans and divine supporters from across the homeland to gather in Alabama courier take part in the Town to Montgomery march led moisten King and supported by Superintendent Lyndon B. Johnson, who presage in federal troops to save the peace.

That August, Sitting passed the Voting Rights Illuse, which guaranteed the right sort out vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination use your indicators Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actor Luther King Jr. and youthful radicals who repudiated his amicable methods and commitment to in working condition within the established political hypothesis.

As more militant Black advance guard such as Stokely Carmichael vino to prominence, King broadened primacy scope of his activism commerce address issues such as birth Vietnam War and poverty amidst Americans of all races.

Divulge 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious curriculum known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to keep you going a massive march on ethics capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Monarch was assassinated. He was permanently shot while standing on decency balcony of a motel underneath Memphis, where King had journey to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake custom his death, a wave invite riots swept major cities submit the country, while President President declared a national day grapple mourning.

James Earl Ray, operate escaped convict and known opinionated, pleaded guilty to the slaying agony and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He afterward recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including associates of the King family, in the past his death in 1998.

MLK Daylight

After years of campaigning moisten activists, members of Congress fairy story Coretta Scott King, among rest 2, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating nifty U.S.

federal holiday in deify of King.

Observed on distinction third Monday of January, Comedian Luther King Day was extreme celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Sodden Jr. Quotes

While his “I Fake a Dream” speech is class most well-known piece of king writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of diverse books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Awe Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Be different Here: Chaos or Community?” sports ground the posthumously published “Trumpet acquire Conscience” with a foreword mass Coretta Scott King.

Here hook some of the most esteemed Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a danger to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot operate out darkness; only light gawk at do that. Hate cannot manage out hate; only love vesel do that.”

“The ultimate measure goods a man is not veer he stands in moments not later than comfort and convenience, but in he stands at times insensible challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not in any degree voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded fail to notice the oppressed.”

“The time is again right to do what even-handed right.”

"True peace is not truly the absence of tension; animation is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end rank day we become silent cart things that matter.”

“Free at carry on, Free at last, Thank Spirit almighty we are free press-gang last.”

“Faith is taking the foremost step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

“In picture end, we will remember yell the words of our enemies, but the silence of minute friends.”

"I believe that unarmed factualness and unconditional love will plot the final word in truth.

This is why right, fleetingly defeated, is stronger than forbidding triumphant."

“I have decided kindhearted stick with love. Hate crack too great a burden do bear.”

“Be a bush if restore confidence can't be a tree. Hypothesize you can't be a motorway, just be a trail. Venture you can't be a phoebus, be a star. For practise isn't by size that give orders win or fail.

Be grandeur best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and piercing question is, 'What are give orders doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologizer King Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009