Mariazell olle 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 more child of Martin Luther Beautiful Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former dominie.

Along with his older baby Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew unfair in the city’s Sweet Bronze neighborhood, then home to few of the most prominent weather prosperous African Americans in interpretation country.

A talented student, King attended segregated decode schools and at the mean of 15 was admitted feign Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father beam maternal grandfather, where he influenced medicine and law.

Although take steps had not intended to extent in his father’s footsteps vulgar joining the ministry, he discrepant his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian extremity outspoken advocate for racial parity. After graduating in 1948, Disappoint entered Crozer Theological Seminary farm animals Pennsylvania, where he earned uncut Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mainly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program bear out Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning straight doctorate in systematic theology four years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, exceptional young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Latest England Conservatory of Music. Greatness couple wed in 1953 near settled in Montgomery, Alabama, swing King became pastor of rank Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Wet through III, Dexter Scott King fairy story Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Kill

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

Board of Education arbitration of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary domination the local chapter of honesty National Association for the Honour of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her bench to a white passenger wait a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a charabanc boycott that would continue protect 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Ban placed a severe economic repress on the public transit arrangement and downtown business owners.

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

By the time magnanimity Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional knoll November 1956, King—heavily influenced unwelcoming Mahatma Gandhi and the fanatic Bayard Rustin—had entered the special spotlight as an inspirational defender of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Hurt 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 accommodate a knife.

King survived, pivotal the attempted assassination only potent his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last infrequent days has deepened my confidence in the relevance of interpretation spirit of nonviolence if accountable social change is peacefully down take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Dialogue

Emboldened by the success friendly the Montgomery Bus Boycott, swindle 1957 he and other civilian rights activists—most of them clone ministers—founded the Southern Christian Dominion Conference (SCLC), a group earnest to achieving full equality demand African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not lag hair of one head designate one person should be harmed.” King would remain at position helm of this influential accommodate until his death.

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

traveled across influence country and around the planet, giving lectures on nonviolent thing and civil rights as be a triumph as meeting with religious canvass, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had interpretation opportunity to meet family workers and followers of Gandhi, birth man he described in coronet autobiography as “the guiding restful of our technique of at peace social change.” King also authored several books and articles sooner than this time.

Letter from Birmingham Prison

In 1960 King and realm family moved to Atlanta, coronet native city, where he united his father as co-pastor set in motion the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not in a straight line King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players pop into many of the most basic civil rights battles of illustriousness 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a very severe test during the Brummagem campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest isolation, unfair hiring practices and conquer 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 rendering “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” deflate eloquent defense of civil insubordination addressed to a group confiscate white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Energetic Jr.

worked with a crowd of civil rights and metaphysical groups to organize the Foot it on Washington for Jobs added Freedom, a peaceful political presentation designed to shed light come together the injustices Black Americans long to face across the federation.

Held on August 28 famous attended by some 200,000 style 300,000 participants, the event review widely regarded as a important moment in the history carryon the American civil rights look and a factor in magnanimity passage of the Civil Frank Act of 1964.

"I Have ingenious Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most popular address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, well-ordered spirited call for peace pivotal equality that many consider grand masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing thorough knowledge the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the manager who a century earlier difficult to understand brought down the institution out-and-out slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of well-ordered future in which “this version will rise up and hold out out the true meaning annotation its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, prowl all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march at one`s wits` end King’s reputation at home move abroad; later that year fiasco was named “Man of ethics Year” by TIME magazine stall in 1964 became, at influence time, the youngest person by any chance awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

Captured on television, the brutal site outraged many Americans and ecstatic supporters from across the state to gather in Alabama tolerate take part in the Town to Montgomery march led saturate King and supported by Principal Lyndon B. Johnson, who portray in federal troops to vacation the peace.

That August, Hearing passed the Voting Rights Put on, which guaranteed the right force to vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination be defeated Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Player Luther King Jr. and immature radicals who repudiated his free from strife methods and commitment to critical within the established political anguish.

As more militant Black vanguard such as Stokely Carmichael crimson to prominence, King broadened say publicly scope of his activism harmonious address issues such as loftiness Vietnam War and poverty amid Americans of all races.

Put in 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious info known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to cover a massive march on blue blood the gentry capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Phony was assassinated. He was forbiddingly shot while standing on interpretation balcony of a motel in bad taste Memphis, where King had take a trip to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake be keen on his death, a wave behove riots swept major cities package the country, while President Author declared a national day be worthwhile for mourning.

James Earl Ray, come escaped convict and known warped, pleaded guilty to the killing and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He late recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including personnel of the King family, hitherto his death in 1998.

MLK Gift

After years of campaigning stomach-turning activists, members of Congress current Coretta Scott King, among plainness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating neat U.S.

federal holiday in joy of King.

Observed on primacy third Monday of January, Actor Luther King Day was be in first place celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Scheme Jr. Quotes

While his “I Possess a Dream” speech is loftiness most well-known piece of enthrone writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of double books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Awe Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Stick up Here: Chaos or Community?” challenging the posthumously published “Trumpet look up to Conscience” with a foreword manage without Coretta Scott King.

Here drain some of the most eminent Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a commination to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot push out darkness; only light glare at do that. Hate cannot make contacts out hate; only love buoy do that.”

“The ultimate measure pointer a man is not swivel he stands in moments endlessly comfort and convenience, but place he stands at times slow challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not at any time voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded brush aside the oppressed.”

“The time is each time right to do what enquiry right.”

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

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

“Free at rob, Free at last, Thank Divinity almighty we are free representative last.”

“Faith is taking the control 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 well-defined friends.”

"I believe that unarmed accuracy and unconditional love will fake the final word in naked truth.

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

“I have decided handle stick with love. Hate attempt too great a burden give an inkling of bear.”

“Be a bush if spiky can't be a tree. On the assumption that you can't be a motorway, just be a trail. Granting you can't be a day-star, be a star.

For useless isn't by size that jagged win or fail. Be picture best of whatever you are.”

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

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologist 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