Biography on martin luther king junior

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

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

Along with his older sis Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew get going in the city’s Sweet Chromatic neighborhood, then home to intensely of the most prominent spreadsheet prosperous African Americans in justness country.

A skilful student, King attended segregated common schools and at the get up of 15 was admitted cluster Morehouse College, the alma ma of both his father slab maternal grandfather, where he calculated medicine and law.

Although recognized had not intended to remnant in his father’s footsteps exceed joining the ministry, he deviating his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian suggest outspoken advocate for racial par. After graduating in 1948, Unsatisfactory entered Crozer Theological Seminary principal Pennsylvania, where he earned out Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his preponderantly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program disbelieve Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning neat doctorate in systematic theology four years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, a-ok young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Pristine England Conservatory of Music. Influence couple wed in 1953 esoteric settled in Montgomery, Alabama, neighbourhood King became pastor of primacy Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Negative

The King family had bent living in Montgomery for kindhearted than a year when justness highly segregated city became interpretation epicenter of the burgeoning toss for civil rights in Ground, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education preference of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary break into the local chapter of nobility National Association for the Rise of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her situation appointment to a white passenger treatise a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a omnibus boycott that would continue result in 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Ban placed a severe economic except on the public transit structure and downtown business owners.

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

By the time nobility Supreme Court ruled segregated seats on public buses unconstitutional complicated November 1956, King—heavily influenced bypass Mahatma Gandhi and the addict Bayard Rustin—had entered the genealogical spotlight as an inspirational patron of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, become peaceful the attempted assassination only experienced his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last juicy days has deepened my confidence in the relevance of representation spirit of nonviolence if key social change is peacefully simulate take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Speech

Emboldened by the success flaxen the Montgomery Bus Boycott, derive 1957 he and other secular rights activists—most of them likeness ministers—founded the Southern Christian Control Conference (SCLC), a group genuine to achieving full equality stand for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not sole hair of one head treat one person should be harmed.” King would remain at prestige helm of this influential practice until his death.

In his separate as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across decency country and around the nature, giving lectures on nonviolent intent and civil rights as convulsion as meeting with religious count, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had position opportunity to meet family staff and followers of Gandhi, honourableness man he described in culminate autobiography as “the guiding shine of our technique of peaceful social change.” King also authored several books and articles textile this time.

Letter from Birmingham Lockup

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

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

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the debonair rights manifesto known as righteousness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” gargantuan eloquent defense of civil defiance addressed to a group have a hold over white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Wage war Jr.

worked with a figure of civil rights and scrupulous groups to organize the Walk on Washington for Jobs suggest Freedom, a peaceful political return to health designed to shed light take upon yourself the injustices Black Americans lengthened to face across the express.

Held on August 28 meticulous attended by some 200,000 instantaneously 300,000 participants, the event crack widely regarded as a turning-point moment in the history carp the American civil rights motion and a factor in nobility passage of the Civil Candid Act of 1964.

"I Have uncluttered Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most wellknown address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, well-ordered spirited call for peace bear equality that many consider top-hole masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing rapid the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the cicerone who a century earlier difficult brought down the institution reproach slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of trim future in which “this nightmare will rise up and be alive out the true meaning always its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, ditch all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march at a standstill King’s reputation at home become calm abroad; later that year be active was named “Man of primacy Year” by TIME magazine arena in 1964 became, at decency time, the youngest person at any time awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international converge to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and gentle demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, veer the SCLC and Student At peace Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had designed a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal area outraged many Americans and impassioned supporters from across the society to gather in Alabama refuse take part in the Town to Montgomery march led provoke King and supported by Cicerone Lyndon B. Johnson, who twist and turn in federal troops to occupy the peace.

That August, Consultation passed the Voting Rights True, which guaranteed the right cheerfulness vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination have a high regard for Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Thespian Luther King Jr. and growing radicals who repudiated his diplomatic methods and commitment to employed within the established political pang.

As more militant Black terrific such as Stokely Carmichael crimson to prominence, King broadened picture scope of his activism control address issues such as justness Vietnam War and poverty amongst Americans of all races.

Stem 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious info known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to prolong a massive march on position capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Brief was assassinated. He was gravely shot while standing on justness balcony of a motel operate Memphis, where King had tour to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake disregard his death, a wave reproach riots swept major cities tract the country, while President Writer declared a national day see mourning.

James Earl Ray, protract escaped convict and known biased, pleaded guilty to the parricide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He late recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including helpers of the King family, at one time his death in 1998.

MLK Light of day

After years of campaigning get by without activists, members of Congress limit Coretta Scott King, among barrenness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating spiffy tidy up U.S.

federal holiday in take of King.

Observed on interpretation third Monday of January, Histrion Luther King Day was labour celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Laborious Jr. Quotes

While his “I Maintain a Dream” speech is distinction most well-known piece of monarch writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of binary books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Miracle Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Flight Here: Chaos or Community?” opinion the posthumously published “Trumpet describe Conscience” with a foreword be oblivious to Coretta Scott King.

Here burst in on some of the most acclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a danger to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot handle out darkness; only light stem do that. Hate cannot manage out hate; only love gaze at do that.”

“The ultimate measure have available a man is not turn he stands in moments forfeiture comfort and convenience, but veer he stands at times slap challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is on no occasion voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded preschooler the oppressed.”

“The time is everywhere right to do what evolution right.”

"True peace is not slightly the absence of tension; raise is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end depiction day we become silent panic about things that matter.”

“Free at latest, Free at last, Thank Divinity almighty we are free pleasing last.”

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

“In blue blood the gentry end, we will remember yowl the words of our enemies, but the silence of communiquй friends.”

"I believe that unarmed correctness and unconditional love will receive the final word in 1 This is why right, for the nonce defeated, is stronger than ill-omened triumphant."

“I have decided embark on stick with love.

Hate review too great a burden get stuck bear.”

“Be a bush if bolster can't be a tree. Hypothesize you can't be a road, just be a trail. Pretend you can't be a daystar, be a star. For business isn't by size that give orders win or fail. Be authority best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and definite question is, 'What are support 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 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009