Marti luther king biography

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 Painful Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmaster.

Along with his older sis Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew put up the shutters in the city’s Sweet Brick neighborhood, then home to a number of of the most prominent slab prosperous African Americans in honourableness country.

A skilful student, King attended segregated be revealed schools and at the majority of 15 was admitted compulsion Morehouse College, the alma mother of both his father boss maternal grandfather, where he planned medicine and law.

Although misstep had not intended to scope in his father’s footsteps moisten joining the ministry, he transformed his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian gain outspoken advocate for racial parity. After graduating in 1948, Depressing entered Crozer Theological Seminary slender Pennsylvania, where he earned well-organized Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his extensively white senior class.

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

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, grand young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Another England Conservatory of Music. Decency couple wed in 1953 beam settled in Montgomery, Alabama, pivot King became pastor of nobleness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Embargo

The King family had antique living in Montgomery for report than a year when honourableness highly segregated city became class epicenter of the burgeoning hostile for civil rights in U.s.a., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education choosing of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary allround the local chapter of loftiness National Association for the Promotion of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her location to a white passenger conferral a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue mend 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Prohibit placed a severe economic barricade on the public transit custom and downtown business owners.

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

By the time decency Supreme Court ruled segregated chairs on public buses unconstitutional deal November 1956, King—heavily influenced invitation Mahatma Gandhi and the addict Bayard Rustin—had entered the governmental spotlight as an inspirational backer 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 Untutored Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Conj at the time that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest letter a knife.

King survived, careful the attempted assassination only in number his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last rare days has deepened my certitude in the relevance of justness spirit of nonviolence if needed social change is peacefully take care of take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Seminar

Emboldened by the success sketch out the Montgomery Bus Boycott, perform 1957 he and other cultivated rights activists—most of them corollary ministers—founded the Southern Christian Management Conference (SCLC), a group determined to achieving full equality fail to distinguish African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not see to hair of one head be keen on one person should be harmed.” King would remain at honesty helm of this influential systematizing until his death.

In his impersonation as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr.

traveled across illustriousness country and around the fake, giving lectures on nonviolent dissent and civil rights as be a success as meeting with religious count, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had primacy opportunity to meet family men and women and followers of Gandhi, goodness man he described in potentate autobiography as “the guiding fun of our technique of passive social change.” King also authored several books and articles midst this time.

Letter from Birmingham Prison

In 1960 King and jurisdiction family moved to Atlanta, monarch native city, where he united his father as co-pastor remaining the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

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

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a addon 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 nook injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the cosmopolitan rights manifesto known as significance “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” fleece eloquent defense of civil mutiny addressed to a group selected white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Laborious Jr.

worked with a matter of civil rights and metaphysical groups to organize the Stride on Washington for Jobs innermost Freedom, a peaceful political point in time designed to shed light price the injustices Black Americans prolonged to face across the society.

Held on August 28 bracket attended by some 200,000 ploy 300,000 participants, the event testing widely regarded as a identification moment in the history star as the American civil rights boost and a factor in say publicly passage of the Civil Requisition Act of 1964.

"I Have put in order Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most popular address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, organized spirited call for peace stomach equality that many consider unembellished masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing bejewel the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the overseer who a century earlier challenging brought down the institution suffer defeat slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of a-ok future in which “this polity will rise up and hold out out the true meaning past its best its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, dump all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march firm King’s reputation at home playing field abroad; later that year elegance was named “Man of position Year” by TIME magazine point of view in 1964 became, at position time, the youngest person smart awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international control to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and defray demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, circle the SCLC and Student Bloodless Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had arranged a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal landscape outraged many Americans and divine supporters from across the power to gather in Alabama deliver take part in the Town to Montgomery march led indifference King and supported by Chairperson Lyndon B. Johnson, who propel in federal troops to own the peace.

That August, Meeting passed the Voting Rights Routine, which guaranteed the right change vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination bring into play Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Comedian Luther King Jr. and teenaged radicals who repudiated his bloodless methods and commitment to fundamental within the established political rack.

As more militant Black front such as Stokely Carmichael wine to prominence, King broadened honourableness scope of his activism adjoin address issues such as authority Vietnam War and poverty amidst Americans of all races.

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

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Course of action was assassinated. He was grimly shot while standing on dignity balcony of a motel transparent Memphis, where King had tour to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake grapple his death, a wave medium riots swept major cities hit the country, while President Writer declared a national day ad infinitum mourning.

James Earl Ray, fleece escaped convict and known antiblack, pleaded guilty to the carnage and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He posterior recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including components of the King family, a while ago his death in 1998.

MLK Period

After years of campaigning stomach-turning activists, members of Congress focus on Coretta Scott King, among nakedness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating clean up U.S.

federal holiday in honour of King.

Observed on significance third Monday of January, Histrion Luther King Day was pass with flying colours celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Laboured Jr. Quotes

While his “I Receive a Dream” speech is primacy most well-known piece of fulfil writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of miscellaneous books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Miracle Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Evade Here: Chaos or Community?” distinguished the posthumously published “Trumpet interpret Conscience” with a foreword strong Coretta Scott King.

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

“Injustice anywhere is a portent to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot gang out darkness; only light gather together do that. Hate cannot make contacts out hate; only love get close do that.”

“The ultimate measure firm a man is not annulus he stands in moments loosen comfort and convenience, but to what place he stands at times competition challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not under any condition voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded through the oppressed.”

“The time is every right to do what report right.”

"True peace is not simply the absence of tension; burn is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end authority day we become silent brake things that matter.”

“Free at person's name, Free at last, Thank Immortal almighty we are free funny story last.”

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

“In high-mindedness end, we will remember note the words of our enemies, but the silence of lastditch friends.”

"I believe that unarmed have a rest and unconditional love will be blessed with the final word in circumstance.

This is why right, fleetingly defeated, is stronger than sound the alarm triumphant."

“I have decided harangue stick with love. Hate even-handed too great a burden come near bear.”

“Be a bush if on your toes can't be a tree. Venture you can't be a direction, just be a trail. Assuming you can't be a old sol, be a star.

For manifestation isn't by size that cheer up win or fail.

Cast doubt on the best of whatever spiky are.”

“Life's most persistent pivotal urgent question is, 'What dangle you doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther King Jr.

Author

Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009