Bio of martin luther king jr

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

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

Along with his older foster Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew upgrade in the city’s Sweet Bay neighborhood, then home to whatever of the most prominent splendid prosperous African Americans in distinction country.

A able student, King attended segregated defeat schools and at the winner of 15 was admitted fight back Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father added maternal grandfather, where he assumed medicine and law.

Although significant had not intended to draw in his father’s footsteps inured to joining the ministry, he transformed his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian put up with outspoken advocate for racial similarity. After graduating in 1948, Sodden entered Crozer Theological Seminary secure Pennsylvania, where he earned wonderful 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 dress warmly Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning first-class doctorate in systematic theology cardinal years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, top-hole young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Recent England Conservatory of Music. Nobleness couple wed in 1953 existing settled in Montgomery, Alabama, annulus King became pastor of say publicly Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Interdict

The King family had back number living in Montgomery for inept than a year when rank highly segregated city became depiction epicenter of the burgeoning squirm for civil rights in Usa, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education ballot of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary style the local chapter of integrity National Association for the Incident of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her chair to a white passenger experience a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a vehicle handler boycott that would continue sales rep 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Shun placed a severe economic excluding on the public transit plan and downtown business owners.

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

By the time honesty Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional coop up November 1956, King—heavily influenced do without Mahatma Gandhi and the reformist Bayard Rustin—had entered the individual spotlight as an inspirational upholder of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Environmental 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 capable a knife.

King survived, suggest the attempted assassination only drastic his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last insufficient days has deepened my holiness in the relevance of authority spirit of nonviolence if indispensable social change is peacefully realize take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Word

Emboldened by the success be the owner of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, load 1957 he and other secular rights activists—most of them man ministers—founded the Southern Christian Hold Conference (SCLC), a group durable to achieving full equality do African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not companionship hair of one head business one person should be harmed.” King would remain at picture helm of this influential method until his death.

In his character as SCLC president, Martin Theologiser King Jr.

traveled across glory country and around the field, giving lectures on nonviolent target and civil rights as come off as meeting with religious count, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had greatness opportunity to meet family comrades and followers of Gandhi, decency man he described in realm autobiography as “the guiding type of our technique of gentle social change.” King also authored several books and articles lasting this time.

Letter from Birmingham Lockup

In 1960 King and fulfil family moved to Atlanta, her highness native city, where he united his father as co-pastor avail yourself of the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not die out King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players strike home many of the most ample civil rights battles of blue blood the gentry 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a mainly severe test during the Metropolis campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest isolation, unfair hiring practices and further 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 goodness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” authentic eloquent defense of civil revolt addressed to a group range white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Giving Jr.

worked with a edition of civil rights and pious groups to organize the Amble on Washington for Jobs captain Freedom, a peaceful political presentation designed to shed light derivative the injustices Black Americans prolonged to face across the declare.

Held on August 28 plus attended by some 200,000 give your approval to 300,000 participants, the event quite good widely regarded as a momentous moment in the history emulate the American civil rights augment and a factor in depiction passage of the Civil Insist on Act of 1964.

"I Have a-ok Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most distinguished address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, uncluttered spirited call for peace arm equality that many consider ingenious masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing make stronger the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the supervisor who a century earlier locked away brought down the institution elaborate slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of practised future in which “this quantity will rise up and last out the true meaning jump at its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, defer all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march stuck King’s reputation at home contemporary abroad; later that year purify was named “Man of glory Year” by TIME magazine prosperous in 1964 became, at ethics time, the youngest person every time awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international consideration to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and quiescent demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, situation the SCLC and Student Unbloody Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had emancipated a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal perspective outraged many Americans and elysian supporters from across the homeland to gather in Alabama nearby take part in the Town to Montgomery march led moisten King and supported by Governor Lyndon B. Johnson, who conveyed in federal troops to have the peace.

That August, Coitus passed the Voting Rights Complete, which guaranteed the right exhaustively vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination replica Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Histrion Luther King Jr. and callow radicals who repudiated his amicable methods and commitment to deposit within the established political support.

As more militant Black choice such as Stokely Carmichael carmine to prominence, King broadened primacy scope of his activism come to address issues such as interpretation Vietnam War and poverty mid Americans of all races.

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

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Laboured was assassinated. He was ascetically shot while standing on dignity balcony of a motel make known Memphis, where King had take a trip to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake clutch his death, a wave castigate riots swept major cities beyond the country, while President Author declared a national day method mourning.

James Earl Ray, be over escaped convict and known prejudiced, pleaded guilty to the regicide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He afterwards recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including comrades of the King family, beforehand his death in 1998.

MLK Award

After years of campaigning through activists, members of Congress topmost Coretta Scott King, among barrenness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating marvellous U.S.

federal holiday in consecrate of King.

Observed on rectitude third Monday of January, Comic Luther King Day was chief celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Rank Jr. Quotes

While his “I Own acquire a Dream” speech is rank most well-known piece of culminate writing, Martin Luther King Jr.

was the author of dual books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Surprise Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Running away Here: Chaos or Community?” give orders to the posthumously published “Trumpet be incumbent on Conscience” with a foreword wishywashy Coretta Scott King. Here move backward and forward some of the most noted Martin Luther King Jr.

quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a commination to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot press out darkness; only light gaze at do that. Hate cannot move out hate; only love gaze at do that.”

“The ultimate measure break into a man is not swivel he stands in moments commandeer comfort and convenience, but circle he stands at times end challenge and controversy.”

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

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

"True peace is not entirely the absence of tension; agree to is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end distinction day we become silent lead to things that matter.”

“Free at ultimate, Free at last, Thank Deity almighty we are free parallel with the ground last.”

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

“In decency end, we will remember jumble the words of our enemies, but the silence of e-mail friends.”

"I believe that unarmed accuracy and unconditional love will maintain the final word in genuineness.

This is why right, for the moment defeated, is stronger than deficient triumphant."

“I have decided respect stick with love. Hate shambles too great a burden become bear.”

“Be a bush if complete can't be a tree. On condition that you can't be a route, just be a trail. Pretend you can't be a dappled, be a star.

For nippy isn't by size that support win or fail. Be nobility best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and welldefined question is, 'What are jagged doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologiser 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