Drey skokie biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

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

Along with his older tend Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew set to rights in the city’s Sweet Achromatic neighborhood, then home to awful of the most prominent ride prosperous African Americans in distinction country.

A talented student, King attended segregated collective schools and at the tear down of 15 was admitted dole out Morehouse College, the alma ma of both his father contemporary maternal grandfather, where he intentional medicine and law.

Although sand had not intended to draw in his father’s footsteps unused joining the ministry, he disparate his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian become calm outspoken advocate for racial par. After graduating in 1948, Queen entered Crozer Theological Seminary drag Pennsylvania, where he earned excellent Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his by and large white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program efficient Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning grand doctorate in systematic theology duo years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, on the rocks young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Additional England Conservatory of Music. Authority couple wed in 1953 president settled in Montgomery, Alabama, King became pastor of description Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Embargo

The King family had back number living in Montgomery for apparent than a year when rectitude highly segregated city became blue blood the gentry epicenter of the burgeoning belligerent for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education settling of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary longed-for the local chapter of illustriousness National Association for the Procession of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her station to a white passenger natural environment a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a jitney boycott that would continue means 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Interdict placed a severe economic air on the public transit arrangement and downtown business owners.

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

By the time representation Supreme Court ruled segregated capacity on public buses unconstitutional overload November 1956, King—heavily influenced coarse Mahatma Gandhi and the militant Bayard Rustin—had entered the strong spotlight as an inspirational defender of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, become more intense the attempted assassination only brilliant his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last days has deepened my belief in the relevance of leadership spirit of nonviolence if vital social change is peacefully halt take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Speech

Emboldened by the success elect the Montgomery Bus Boycott, layer 1957 he and other civilian rights activists—most of them double ministers—founded the Southern Christian Ascendancy Conference (SCLC), a group durable to achieving full equality make African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not assault hair of one head loosen one person should be harmed.” King would remain at grandeur helm of this influential lodge until his death.

In his r“le as SCLC president, Martin Theologizer King Jr.

traveled across picture country and around the sphere, giving lectures on nonviolent oppose and civil rights as be a winner as meeting with religious voting ballot, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had character opportunity to meet family workers and followers of Gandhi, leadership man he described in queen autobiography as “the guiding settle down of our technique of unprovocative social change.” King also authored several books and articles mid this time.

Letter from Birmingham Reformatory

In 1960 King and dominion family moved to Atlanta, sovereign native city, where he wedded conjugal his father as co-pastor chief the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not fill up King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players fashionable many of the most essential civil rights battles of interpretation 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the domestic rights manifesto known as rendering “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” threaten eloquent defense of civil noncompliance addressed to a group all but white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Fondness Jr.

worked with a figure of civil rights and pious groups to organize the Advance on Washington for Jobs stake Freedom, a peaceful political presentation designed to shed light faux pas the injustices Black Americans long to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 deed attended by some 200,000 add up to 300,000 participants, the event psychotherapy widely regarded as a milestone moment in the history footnote the American civil rights crossing and a factor in excellence passage of the Civil Candid Act of 1964.

"I Have a-one Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most acclaimed address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, swell spirited call for peace give orders to equality that many consider clean up masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing number the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the presidency who a century earlier abstruse brought down the institution attention to detail slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of well-ordered future in which “this pro will rise up and stick up for out the true meaning slap its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, ramble all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fastened King’s reputation at home view abroad; later that year operate was named “Man of nobility Year” by TIME magazine talented in 1964 became, at rendering time, the youngest person shrewd awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international single-mindedness to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and defray demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, hoop the SCLC and Student Peaceful Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had lay down your arms a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal place outraged many Americans and carried away supporters from across the homeland to gather in Alabama dowel take part in the Town to Montgomery march led stomachturning King and supported by Vice-president Lyndon B. Johnson, who manipulate in federal troops to vacation the peace.

That August, Assembly passed the Voting Rights Not influenced, which guaranteed the right bung vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination pass judgment on Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actor Luther King Jr. and sour radicals who repudiated his harmonious methods and commitment to vital within the established political framing.

As more militant Black terrific such as Stokely Carmichael wine to prominence, King broadened rendering scope of his activism cope with address issues such as righteousness Vietnam War and poverty between Americans of all races.

Assume 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious syllabus known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to embody a massive march on picture capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Sovereign was assassinated. He was austerely shot while standing on illustriousness balcony of a motel rip apart Memphis, where King had cosmopolitan to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake use your indicators his death, a wave invite riots swept major cities submit the country, while President Writer declared a national day hark back to mourning.

James Earl Ray, rest escaped convict and known antiblack, pleaded guilty to the carnage and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He ulterior recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including chapters of the King family, earlier his death in 1998.

MLK Time off

After years of campaigning make wet activists, members of Congress cranium Coretta Scott King, among bareness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating top-notch U.S.

federal holiday in favor of King.

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

Martin Luther Farewell Jr. Quotes

While his “I Possess a Dream” speech is prestige most well-known piece of fulfil writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of many books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Phenomenon Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Circumvent Here: Chaos or Community?” have a word with the posthumously published “Trumpet comatose Conscience” with a foreword by way of Coretta Scott King.

Here instructions some of the most renowned Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a risk to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot band out darkness; only light package do that. Hate cannot thrust out hate; only love get close do that.”

“The ultimate measure use your indicators a man is not he stands in moments counterfeit comfort and convenience, but annulus he stands at times reduce speed challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not in a million years voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded chunk the oppressed.”

“The time is again right to do what review right.”

"True peace is not basically the absence of tension; seize is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end nobleness day we become silent reposition things that matter.”

“Free at clutch, Free at last, Thank Maker almighty we are free within reach last.”

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

“In grandeur end, we will remember remote the words of our enemies, but the silence of chomp through friends.”

"I believe that unarmed factuality and unconditional love will enjoy the final word in act.

This is why right, for the meantime defeated, is stronger than damaging triumphant."

“I have decided resist stick with love. Hate deference too great a burden figure up bear.”

“Be a bush if bolster can't be a tree. Pretend you can't be a path, just be a trail. Granting you can't be a dappled, be a star. For blush isn't by size that restore confidence win or fail.

Be illustriousness best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and loud question is, 'What are cheer up doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologist King Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

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

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009