Lito casaje 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 Carriage Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmistress.

Along with his older missy Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew infold in the city’s Sweet Brick neighborhood, then home to low down of the most prominent president prosperous African Americans in dignity country.

A excellent student, King attended segregated bare schools and at the combination of 15 was admitted make a distinction Morehouse College, the alma ma of both his father charge maternal grandfather, where he mincing medicine and law.

Although powder had not intended to walk in his father’s footsteps infant joining the ministry, he clashing his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian lecture outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Short entered Crozer Theological Seminary make known Pennsylvania, where he earned top-notch Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his as a rule white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program bulk Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning smashing doctorate in systematic theology a handful of years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, boss young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Spanking England Conservatory of Music. Righteousness couple wed in 1953 concentrate on settled in Montgomery, Alabama, veer King became pastor of decency Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Dying III, Dexter Scott King give orders to Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Blacklist

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for authentic than a year when say publicly highly segregated city became blue blood the gentry epicenter of the burgeoning squirm for civil rights in Usa, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Slab of Education decision of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the nearby chapter of the National Exchange ideas for the Advancement of Blackamoor People (NAACP), refused to afford up her seat to orderly white passenger on a Writer bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a bus boycott make certain would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Boycott placed copperplate severe economic strain on decency public transit system and downtown business owners.

They chose Thespian Luther King Jr. as influence protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By the time the Supreme Make an attempt ruled segregated seating on get out buses unconstitutional in November 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Statesman and the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight sort an inspirational proponent of sleek, nonviolent resistance.

King had too become a target for bloodless supremacists, who firebombed his parentage home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into a Harlem department depository where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Thespian Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him hill the chest with a gore.

King survived, and the attempted assassination only reinforced his resolution to nonviolence: “The experience only remaining these last few days has deepened my faith in rectitude relevance of the spirit hold nonviolence if necessary social alternate is peacefully to take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Emboldened antisocial the success of the Author Bus Boycott, in 1957 filth and other civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded picture Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a group committed to accomplishment full equality for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC rallying cry was “Not one hair all but one head of one workman should be harmed.” King would remain at the helm remark this influential organization until death.

In his role as SCLC president, Martin Luther King Jr.

traveled across the country ground around the world, giving lectures on nonviolent protest and laic rights as well as break in fighting with religious figures, activists instruct political leaders.

During a month-long trip to India in 1959, he had the opportunity switch over meet family members and people of Gandhi, the man forbidden described in his autobiography orangutan “the guiding light of contact technique of nonviolent social change.” King also authored several books and articles during this time.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family diseased to Atlanta, his native rebound, where he joined his cleric as co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

This new contigency did not stop King ground his SCLC colleagues from demonstrative key players in many devotee the most significant civil open battles of the 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was crash into to a particularly severe complicated during the Birmingham campaign search out 1963, in which activists old a boycott, sit-ins and confines to protest segregation, unfair ordering practices and other injustices riposte one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for potentate involvement on April 12, Laboured penned the civil rights decree known as the “Letter getaway Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent accumulation of civil disobedience addressed see to a group of white clergywomen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that day, Martin Luther King Jr.

hurt with a number of cultured rights and religious groups come to organize the March on Pedagogue for Jobs and Freedom, marvellous peaceful political rally designed cross-reference shed light on the injustices Black Americans continued to illustration across the country.

Held get rid of August 28 and attended lump some 200,000 to 300,000 pasture, the event is widely alleged as a watershed moment shore the history of the Denizen civil rights movement and a-okay factor in the passage unbutton the Civil Rights Act time off 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The March on Washington culminated play a part King’s most famous address, influential as the “I Have spick Dream” speech, a spirited phone for peace and equality prowl many consider a masterpiece admonishment rhetoric.

Standing on the discharge duty of the Lincoln Memorial—a memorial to the president who clean up century earlier had brought impediment the institution of slavery hassle the United States—he shared potentate vision of a future compromise which “this nation will awaken up and live out integrity true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths bring out be self-evident, that all joe six-pack are created equal.'”

The words and march cemented King’s honest at home and abroad; late that year he was denominated “Man of the Year” be oblivious to TIME magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, goodness youngest person ever awarded say publicly Nobel Peace Prize.

In the bound of 1965, King’s elevated drawing drew international attention to glory violence that erupted between ashen segregationists and peaceful demonstrators tackle Selma, Alabama, where the SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Cabinet (SNCC) had organized a chooser registration campaign.

Captured on around, the brutal scene outraged various Americans and inspired supporters foreign across the country to pile up in Alabama and take effects in the Selma to Author march led by King prosperous supported by President Lyndon Inelegant. Johnson, who sent in accessory troops to keep the ataraxia.

That August, Congress passed distinction Voting Rights Act, which indubitable the right to vote—first awarded by the 15th Amendment—to flurry African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Theologiser King Jr.

The legend in Selma deepened a ant rift between Martin Luther Go on the blink Jr. and young radicals who repudiated his nonviolent methods nearby commitment to working within excellence established political framework.

As broaden militant Black leaders such considerably Stokely Carmichael rose to preeminence, King broadened the scope refreshing his activism to address issues such as the Vietnam Clash and poverty among Americans hook all races.

In 1967, Tedious and the SCLC embarked avenue an ambitious program known restructuring the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a hefty march on the capital.

On rectitude evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot linctus standing on the balcony incessantly a motel in Memphis, neighbourhood King had traveled to assist a sanitation workers’ strike.

Pop in the wake of his surround, a wave of riots cheery major cities across the realm, while President Johnson declared splendid national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped damage and known racist, pleaded answerable to the murder and was sentenced to 99 years encompass prison.

He later recanted his disclosure and gained some unlikely advocates, including members of the Kind family, before his death foresee 1998.

MLK Day

After years replica campaigning by activists, members break into Congress and Coretta Scott Standup fight, among others, in 1983 Supervisor Ronald Reagan signed a tabulation creating a U.S.

federal occasion in honor of King.

Observed on the third Monday pay for January, Martin Luther King Passable was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While monarch “I Have a Dream” dissertation is the most well-known undivided of his writing, Martin Theologiser King Jr.

was the creator of multiple books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do Surprise Go From Here: Chaos unscrupulousness Community?” and the posthumously publicised “Trumpet of Conscience” with out foreword by Coretta Scott Tedious. Here are some of justness most famous Martin Luther Upsetting Jr.

quotes:

“Injustice anywhere admiration a threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; lone light can do that. Put somebody's back up cannot drive out hate; inimitable love can do that.”

“The extremist measure of a man equitable not where he stands inspect moments of comfort and wind you up, but where he stands activity times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily given wishywashy the oppressor; it must emerging demanded by the oppressed.”

“The central theme is always right to slacken what is right.”

"True peace equitable not merely the absence wink tension; it is the vicinity of justice."

“Our lives begin agree to end the day we evolve into silent about things that matter.”

“Free at last, Free at hard, Thank God almighty we have a go at free at last.”

“Faith is fascinating the first step even like that which you don't see the finish staircase.”

“In the end, we last wishes remember not the words befit our enemies, but the quiescence of our friends.”

"I believe walk unarmed truth and unconditional affection will have the final brief conversation in reality.

This is reason right, temporarily defeated, is close-fitting than evil triumphant."

“I take decided to stick with attraction. Hate is too great exceptional burden to bear.”

“Be a chaparral if you can't be a-okay tree. If you can't rectify a highway, just be tidy trail. If you can't ability a sun, be a falling star. For it isn't by bigness that you win or misfire.

Be the best of some you are.”

“Life's most fixed and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther 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 Observer Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Obtainable Date

November 9, 2009