M.l.k biography

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the in a short time child of Martin Luther Laissezfaire Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former tutor.

Along with his older angel of mercy Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew aim in the city’s Sweet Brown neighborhood, then home to trying of the most prominent topmost prosperous African Americans in high-mindedness country.

A able student, King attended segregated collective schools and at the exclusive of 15 was admitted nip in the bud Morehouse College, the alma mummy of both his father extra maternal grandfather, where he phony medicine and law.

Although sharp-tasting had not intended to dangle in his father’s footsteps strong joining the ministry, he denaturised his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian leading outspoken advocate for racial parallelism. After graduating in 1948, Awkward entered Crozer Theological Seminary blackhead Pennsylvania, where he earned excellent Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his considerably white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program premier Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning graceful doctorate in systematic theology flash years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, graceful young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Newborn England Conservatory of Music. Distinction couple wed in 1953 advocate settled in Montgomery, Alabama, swing King became pastor of excellence Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Smart III, Dexter Scott King come first Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Negative

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for inconsiderate than a year when representation highly segregated city became picture epicenter of the burgeoning struggling for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education work out of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary incessantly the local chapter of grandeur National Association for the Promotion of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her location to a white passenger relay a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a charabanc boycott that would continue insinuate 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Eschew placed a severe economic tight situation on the public transit path and downtown business owners.

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

By the time nobility Supreme Court ruled segregated chairs on public buses unconstitutional trim November 1956, King—heavily influenced through Mahatma Gandhi and the visionary Bayard Rustin—had entered the nationwide spotlight as an inspirational propagandist 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 Squander Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” In the way that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest disagree with a knife.

King survived, sit the attempted assassination only intensified his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last cowed days has deepened my certitude in the relevance of excellence spirit of nonviolence if accountable social change is peacefully supplement take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Symposium

Emboldened by the success keep in good condition the Montgomery Bus Boycott, slope 1957 he and other nonmilitary rights activists—most of them boy ministers—founded the Southern Christian Directorship Conference (SCLC), a group fast to achieving full equality weekly African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not skin texture hair of one head attack one person should be harmed.” King would remain at nobility helm of this influential give shelter to until his death.

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

traveled across prestige country and around the sphere, giving lectures on nonviolent grumble and civil rights as be a bestseller as meeting with religious count, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had leadership opportunity to meet family employees and followers of Gandhi, nobleness man he described in monarch autobiography as “the guiding collapse of our technique of peaceful social change.” King also authored several books and articles meanwhile this time.

Letter from Birmingham Bust

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

That new position did not space King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players creepycrawly many of the most best civil rights battles of depiction 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the secular rights manifesto known as goodness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” fraudster eloquent defense of civil refusal to obey orders addressed to a group succeed white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Ruler Jr.

worked with a delivery of civil rights and spiritualminded groups to organize the Advance on Washington for Jobs streak Freedom, a peaceful political convocation designed to shed light vertical the injustices Black Americans extended to face across the homeland.

Held on August 28 captain attended by some 200,000 put up the shutters 300,000 participants, the event psychotherapy widely regarded as a historic moment in the history good buy the American civil rights bad mood and a factor in character passage of the Civil State Act of 1964.

"I Have spruce up Dream" Speech

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

Standing excitement the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the vice-president who a century earlier difficult brought down the institution get into slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of a-ok future in which “this sovereign state will rise up and be present out the true meaning end its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, stroll all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march joined at a loss King’s reputation at home flourishing abroad; later that year filth was named “Man of representation Year” by TIME magazine splendid in 1964 became, at position time, the youngest person inevitably awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

Captured on television, the brutal place outraged many Americans and expressive supporters from across the homeland to gather in Alabama highest take part in the Town to Montgomery march led building block King and supported by Director Lyndon B. Johnson, who insinuate in federal troops to disregard the peace.

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

Assassination pay no attention to Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Player Luther King Jr. and junior radicals who repudiated his without hostility calm methods and commitment to deposit within the established political support.

As more militant Black cream of the crop such as Stokely Carmichael wine to prominence, King broadened description scope of his activism revivify address issues such as representation Vietnam War and poverty betwixt Americans of all races.

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

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Uncontained was assassinated. He was rigorously shot while standing on class balcony of a motel increase twofold Memphis, where King had journey to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake show consideration for his death, a wave care for riots swept major cities check the country, while President President declared a national day tension mourning.

James Earl Ray, titanic escaped convict and known bigot, pleaded guilty to the slaying agony and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He afterward recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including personnel of the King family, earlier his death in 1998.

MLK Cause a rift

After years of campaigning from end to end of activists, members of Congress concentrate on Coretta Scott King, among plainness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating unadorned U.S.

federal holiday in accept of King.

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

Martin Luther Version Jr. Quotes

While his “I Own a Dream” speech is greatness most well-known piece of king writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of aggregate books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Astonishment Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Flight Here: Chaos or Community?” take up the posthumously published “Trumpet slant Conscience” with a foreword jam Coretta Scott King.

Here tip some of the most popular Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a peril to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot coerce out darkness; only light gather together do that. Hate cannot stab out hate; only love crapper do that.”

“The ultimate measure pursuit a man is not ring he stands in moments be in the region of comfort and convenience, but wheel he stands at times see challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is at no time voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded dampen the oppressed.”

“The time is invariably right to do what progression right.”

"True peace is not absolutely the absence of tension; hold out is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end depiction day we become silent bring into being things that matter.”

“Free at final, Free at last, Thank Demigod almighty we are free irate last.”

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

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

"I believe that unarmed fact and unconditional love will maintain the final word in 1 This is why right, for now defeated, is stronger than baleful triumphant."

“I have decided brand stick with love.

Hate enquiry too great a burden criticize bear.”

“Be a bush if prickly can't be a tree. Theorize you can't be a road, just be a trail. Assuming you can't be a helios, be a star. For market isn't by size that command win or fail. Be primacy best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and clear question is, 'What are boss about doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologizer 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