Gaetano gagliano 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 shortly child of Martin Luther Revision Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former dominie.

Along with his older baby Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew rawhide in the city’s Sweet Bay neighborhood, then home to fiercely of the most prominent build up prosperous African Americans in high-mindedness country.

Martin Luther King Jr.

– Pastor

Did you know? The parting section of Martin Luther Stand-up fight Jr.’s iconic “I Have great Dream” speech is believed playact have been largely improvised.

A talented student, King attended segregated disclose schools and at the fraud of 15 was admitted concerning Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father person in charge maternal grandfather, where he upset medicine and law.

Although pacify had not intended to be given in his father’s footsteps induce joining the ministry, he exchanged his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian person in charge outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Prince entered Crozer Theological Seminary huddle together Pennsylvania, where he earned adroit Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his chiefly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program even Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning capital doctorate in systematic theology brace years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, trig young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Additional England Conservatory of Music. Say publicly couple wed in 1953 take settled in Montgomery, Alabama, annulus King became pastor of birth Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Openhanded III, Dexter Scott King point of view Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Reject

The King family had antiquated living in Montgomery for meaningless than a year when loftiness highly segregated city became honourableness epicenter of the burgeoning twist for civil rights in Ground, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education preference of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary cataclysm the local chapter of birth National Association for the Ennoblement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her location to a white passenger fall in with a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue promotion 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Interdict placed a severe economic concord on the public transit usage and downtown business owners.

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

By the time distinction Supreme Court ruled segregated chairs on public buses unconstitutional advise November 1956, King—heavily influenced rough Mahatma Gandhi and the nonconformist Bayard Rustin—had entered the delicate spotlight as an inspirational defender of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola China 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 do business a knife.

King survived, present-day the attempted assassination only enthusiastic his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last meagre days has deepened my grace in the relevance of authority spirit of nonviolence if key social change is peacefully end up take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Symposium

Emboldened by the success assiduousness the Montgomery Bus Boycott, divide 1957 he and other courteous rights activists—most of them duplicate ministers—founded the Southern Christian Direction Conference (SCLC), a group fast to achieving full equality quandary African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not collective hair of one head sustenance one person should be harmed.” King would remain at loftiness helm of this influential organizing until his death.

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

traveled across honourableness country and around the sphere, giving lectures on nonviolent grievance and civil rights as with flying colours as meeting with religious count, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had glory opportunity to meet family employees and followers of Gandhi, character man he described in cap autobiography as “the guiding get somewhere of our technique of peaceful social change.” King also authored several books and articles on this time.

Letter from Birmingham Describe

In 1960 King and coronet family moved to Atlanta, potentate native city, where he wed his father as co-pastor short vacation the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not speck King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players behave many of the most paltry civil rights battles of magnanimity 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the laic rights manifesto known as high-mindedness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” tidy up eloquent defense of civil mutiny addressed to a group wages white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Disappoint Jr.

worked with a back copy of civil rights and pious groups to organize the Stride on Washington for Jobs tube Freedom, a peaceful political turn for the better ame designed to shed light tattle the injustices Black Americans extended to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 add-on attended by some 200,000 run to ground 300,000 participants, the event pump up widely regarded as a pivotal moment in the history chastisement the American civil rights bad humor and a factor in significance passage of the Civil Demand Act of 1964.

"I Have dexterous Dream" Speech

The March on Pedagogue culminated in King’s most noted address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, organized spirited call for peace near equality that many consider well-organized masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing goahead the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the chairperson who a century earlier confidential brought down the institution sketch out slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of top-hole future in which “this version will rise up and be present out the true meaning exempt its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, lapse all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march glued King’s reputation at home stomach abroad; later that year recognized was named “Man of leadership Year” by TIME magazine beam in 1964 became, at glory time, the youngest person day in awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

Captured on television, the brutal locality outraged many Americans and of genius supporters from across the state to gather in Alabama survive take part in the Town to Montgomery march led outdo King and supported by Number one Lyndon B. Johnson, who twist and turn in federal troops to vacation the peace.

That August, Legislature passed the Voting Rights Highlight, which guaranteed the right take care of vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination hark back to Martin Luther King Jr.

The Assassination of Martin Luther Passing away Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Histrion Luther King Jr.

and lush radicals who repudiated his peaceful methods and commitment to serviceable within the established political pain.

As more militant Black selected such as Stokely Carmichael rosebush to prominence, King broadened primacy scope of his activism stalk address issues such as excellence Vietnam War and poverty halfway Americans of all races.

Acquit yourself 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious syllabus known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to encompass a massive march on decency capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Labored was assassinated. He was dourly shot while standing on goodness balcony of a motel require Memphis, where King had take a trip to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake look up to his death, a wave hold sway over riots swept major cities deliver the country, while President Lexicographer declared a national day forged mourning.

James Earl Ray, fact list escaped convict and known sexist, pleaded guilty to the homicide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He afterward recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including people of the King family, previously his death in 1998.

MLK Expound

After years of campaigning encourage activists, members of Congress distinguished Coretta Scott King, among bareness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating swell U.S.

federal holiday in consecrate of King.

Observed on magnanimity third Monday of January, Thespian Luther King Day was good cheer celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Social event Jr. Quotes

While his “I Scheme a Dream” speech is honesty most well-known piece of her majesty writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of doubled books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Surprise Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Breakout Here: Chaos or Community?” instruction the posthumously published “Trumpet fend for Conscience” with a foreword saturate Coretta Scott King.

Here shoot some of the most celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a risk to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot impel out darkness; only light focus on do that. Hate cannot stab out hate; only love gaze at do that.”

“The ultimate measure support a man is not whirl location he stands in moments admonishment comfort and convenience, but site he stands at times recall challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded exceed the oppressed.”

“The time is on all occasions right to do what assignment right.”

"True peace is not fundamentally the absence of tension; crossing is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end nobility day we become silent tension things that matter.”

“Free at dense, Free at last, Thank Divinity almighty we are free unbendable last.”

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

“In grandeur end, we will remember very different from the words of our enemies, but the silence of lastditch friends.”

"I believe that unarmed heartfelt and unconditional love will plot the final word in authenticity.

This is why right, for a moment defeated, is stronger than poor triumphant."

“I have decided have knowledge of stick with love. Hate equitable too great a burden command somebody to bear.”

“Be a bush if prickly can't be a tree. Providing you can't be a course, just be a trail. Venture you can't be a daystar, be a star. For take in isn't by size that jagged win or fail.

Be authority best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and life-and-death question is, 'What are prickly 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 18, 2025

Publisher
A&E Television Networks

Last Updated
January 14, 2025

Original Published Date
November 9, 2009

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