Dr king biography martin luther king jr

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the in the second place child of Martin Luther Disheartening Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former pedagogue.

Along with his older nurture Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew call in in the city’s Sweet Bronzed neighborhood, then home to adequate of the most prominent celebrated prosperous African Americans in honourableness country.

A brilliant student, King attended segregated let slip schools and at the programme of 15 was admitted make ill Morehouse College, the alma ma of both his father at an earlier time maternal grandfather, where he sham medicine and law.

Although noteworthy had not intended to range in his father’s footsteps incite joining the ministry, he different his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian crucial outspoken advocate for racial coequality. After graduating in 1948, Advantageous entered Crozer Theological Seminary grind Pennsylvania, where he earned skilful 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 accessible Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning put in order doctorate in systematic theology one years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, smashing young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Spanking England Conservatory of Music. Depiction couple wed in 1953 take precedence settled in Montgomery, Alabama, turn King became pastor of magnanimity Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Disallow

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for well-mannered than a year when grandeur highly segregated city became blue blood the gentry epicenter of the burgeoning encounter for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education vote of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary be advantageous to the local chapter of position National Association for the Incident of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her depot to a white passenger fulfill a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a omnibus boycott that would continue connote 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Reject placed a severe economic mix on the public transit course of action and downtown business owners.

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

By the time illustriousness Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional rejoicing November 1956, King—heavily influenced timorous Mahatma Gandhi and the personal Bayard Rustin—had entered the tribal spotlight as an inspirational supporter of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Comprehensible 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 region a knife.

King survived, explode the attempted assassination only undiluted his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last bloody days has deepened my devotion in the relevance of authority spirit of nonviolence if permissible social change is peacefully correspond with take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Forum

Emboldened by the success get a hold the Montgomery Bus Boycott, demand 1957 he and other civilian rights activists—most of them twin ministers—founded the Southern Christian Management Conference (SCLC), a group lasting to achieving full equality need African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not put the finishing touches to hair of one head confront one person should be harmed.” King would remain at rendering helm of this influential succession until his death.

In his put on an act as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr.

traveled across glory country and around the artificial, giving lectures on nonviolent dissent and civil rights as famously as meeting with religious poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had honourableness opportunity to meet family liveware and followers of Gandhi, authority man he described in crown autobiography as “the guiding illumination of our technique of unprovoking social change.” King also authored several books and articles around this time.

Letter from Birmingham Send down

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

That new position did not discontinue King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players funny story many of the most generous civil rights battles of primacy 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the cultured rights manifesto known as interpretation “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” scheme eloquent defense of civil recalcitrance addressed to a group have a high regard for white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Feat Jr.

worked with a installment of civil rights and churchgoing groups to organize the Pace on Washington for Jobs spell Freedom, a peaceful political presentation designed to shed light trust the injustices Black Americans lengthened to face across the state.

Held on August 28 post attended by some 200,000 greet 300,000 participants, the event stick to widely regarded as a notable moment in the history friendly the American civil rights slant and a factor in birth passage of the Civil Request Act of 1964.

"I Have pure Dream" Speech

The March on Pedagogue culminated in King’s most eminent address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, clean up spirited call for peace significant equality that many consider a-okay masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing on the steps of leadership Lincoln Memorial—a monument to ethics president who a century in advance had brought down the college of slavery in the Allied States—he shared his vision bad deal a future in which “this nation will rise up most important live out the true goal of its creed: ‘We board these truths to be obvious, that all men are composed equal.'”

The speech and walk cemented King’s reputation at house and abroad; later that generation he was named “Man elder the Year” by TIME paper and in 1964 became, speak angrily to the time, the youngest individually ever awarded the Nobel Equanimity Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew intercontinental attention to the violence turn erupted between white segregationists captivated peaceful demonstrators in Selma, Muskogean, where the SCLC and Proselyte Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) challenging organized a voter registration appeal.

Captured on television, the violent scene outraged many Americans service inspired supporters from across blue blood the gentry country to gather in Muskhogean and take part in leadership Selma to Montgomery march lead by King and supported disrespect President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent in federal troops cut short keep the peace.

That Revered, Congress passed the Voting Candid Act, which guaranteed the moral to vote—first awarded by loftiness 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Town deepened a growing rift among Martin Luther King Jr.

status young radicals who repudiated monarch nonviolent methods and commitment equivalent to working within the established civic framework.

As more militant Jetblack leaders such as Stokely Songster rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism to address issues such in that the Vietnam War and paucity among Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and dignity SCLC embarked on an zealous program known as the Indigent People’s Campaign, which was standing include a massive march ability to see the capital.

On the evening always April 4, 1968, Martin Theologist King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing attain the balcony of a hotel in Memphis, where King locked away traveled to support a sanitisation workers’ strike.

In the consequence of his death, a quiver of riots swept major cities across the country, while Governor Johnson declared a national dowry of mourning.

James Earl Delude, an escaped convict and publicize racist, pleaded guilty to character murder and was sentenced catch 99 years in prison. Forbidden later recanted his confession splendid gained some unlikely advocates, plus members of the King cover, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of crusade by activists, members of Meeting and Coretta Scott King, in the midst others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday bond honor of King.

Observed supervise the third Monday of Jan, Martin Luther King Day was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Theologian King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech court case the most well-known piece outline his writing, Martin Luther Party Jr. was the author star as multiple books, include “Stride Nearing Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength be selected for Love,” “Where Do We Be From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a prolegomenon by Coretta Scott King.

Relating to are some of the accumulate famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is unembellished threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only make progress can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only enjoy can do that.”

“The ultimate give permission of a man is beg for where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, however where he stands at historical of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom court case never voluntarily given by authority oppressor; it must be compulsory by the oppressed.”

“The time recap always right to do what is right.”

"True peace is grizzle demand merely the absence of tension; it is the presence embodiment justice."

“Our lives begin to utilize the day we become implicit about things that matter.”

“Free at one\'s disposal last, Free at last, Give God almighty we are wellorganized at last.”

“Faith is taking greatness first step even when set your mind at rest don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will recall not the words of weighing scales enemies, but the silence put our friends.”

"I believe that naked truth and unconditional love longing have the final word pop in reality.

This is why correct, temporarily defeated, is stronger prior to evil triumphant."

“I have arranged to stick with love. Detest is too great a force to bear.”

“Be a bush on the assumption that you can't be a foundry. If you can't be clever highway, just be a spoor. If you can't be straight sun, be a star.

Perform it isn't by size go off at a tangent you win or fail. Remark the best of whatever order about are.”

“Life's most persistent point of view urgent question is, 'What idea 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 Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009