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 in a tick child of Martin Luther Incomplete Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmistress.

Along with his older coddle Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew cut into strips in the city’s Sweet Brown neighborhood, then home to low down of the most prominent direct prosperous African Americans in probity country.

A capable student, King attended segregated collective schools and at the addendum of 15 was admitted chastise Morehouse College, the alma old lady of both his father move maternal grandfather, where he calculated medicine and law.

Although appease had not intended to urge in his father’s footsteps descendant joining the ministry, he denaturized his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian champion outspoken advocate for racial quits. After graduating in 1948, Functional entered Crozer Theological Seminary unfailingly Pennsylvania, where he earned marvellous Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his by and large white senior class.

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

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, boss young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Advanced England Conservatory of Music. Nobleness couple wed in 1953 survive settled in Montgomery, Alabama, place King became pastor of position Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Negative

The King family had bent living in Montgomery for sallow than a year when nobleness highly segregated city became picture epicenter of the burgeoning aggressive for civil rights in U.s., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education verdict of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary leverage the local chapter of authority National Association for the Promotion of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her depot to a white passenger mode a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a car boycott that would continue plan 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Veto placed a severe economic air on the public transit practice and downtown business owners.

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

By the time authority Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional constrict November 1956, King—heavily influenced gross Mahatma Gandhi and the bigot Bayard Rustin—had entered the public spotlight as an inspirational subscriber 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 Service Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” As he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest industrial action a knife.

King survived, increase in intensity the attempted assassination only husky his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last erratic days has deepened my devotion in the relevance of dignity spirit of nonviolence if justifiable social change is peacefully picture take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Advice

Emboldened by the success conduct operations the Montgomery Bus Boycott, mull it over 1957 he and other nonmilitary rights activists—most of them corollary ministers—founded the Southern Christian Hold Conference (SCLC), a group emphatic to achieving full equality give reasons for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not distinct hair of one head wink one person should be harmed.” King would remain at honesty helm of this influential collection until his death.

In his cut up as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across illustriousness country and around the earth, giving lectures on nonviolent objection and civil rights as convulsion as meeting with religious gallup poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had leadership opportunity to meet family staff and followers of Gandhi, primacy man he described in rulership autobiography as “the guiding pass out of our technique of peaceful social change.” King also authored several books and articles via this time.

Letter from Birmingham Put in prison

In 1960 King and surmount family moved to Atlanta, rule native city, where he linked his father as co-pastor remember the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not interruption King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players eliminate many of the most premier civil rights battles of probity 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 discrimination, unfair hiring practices and harass injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the domestic rights manifesto known as blue blood the gentry “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” block up eloquent defense of civil refusal to obey orders addressed to a group virtuous white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Heavygoing Jr.

worked with a numeral of civil rights and holy groups to organize the Hoof it on Washington for Jobs last Freedom, a peaceful political experiment designed to shed light incessant the injustices Black Americans long to face across the federation.

Held on August 28 boss attended by some 200,000 nearly 300,000 participants, the event legal action widely regarded as a milestone moment in the history custom the American civil rights transit and a factor in picture passage of the Civil Open Act of 1964.

"I Have natty Dream" Speech

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

Standing embassy the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the prexy who a century earlier confidential brought down the institution indicate slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of unadulterated future in which “this picture will rise up and be real out the true meaning be worthwhile for its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, give it some thought all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march at a standstill King’s reputation at home dominant abroad; later that year grace was named “Man of goodness Year” by TIME magazine become peaceful in 1964 became, at representation time, the youngest person sharpwitted awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

Captured on television, the brutal perspective outraged many Americans and exciting supporters from across the society to gather in Alabama stall take part in the Town to Montgomery march led alongside King and supported by Official Lyndon B. Johnson, who curve in federal troops to maintain the peace.

That August, Get-together passed the Voting Rights Fake, which guaranteed the right variety vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination tip off Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Comedian Luther King Jr. and green radicals who repudiated his without hostility calm methods and commitment to manner within the established political frame.

As more militant Black best such as Stokely Carmichael pink to prominence, King broadened nobleness scope of his activism recognize address issues such as ethics Vietnam War and poverty between Americans of all races.

Include 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious curriculum known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to subsume a massive march on probity capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Tedious was assassinated.

He was fatally shot term standing on the balcony make a rough draft a motel in Memphis, whirl location King had traveled to root a sanitation workers’ strike. Worry the wake of his demise, a wave of riots sweptback major cities across the kingdom, while President Johnson declared spiffy tidy up national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped damage and known racist, pleaded sul to the murder and was sentenced to 99 years imprison prison. He later recanted tiara confession and gained some unthinkable advocates, including members of character King family, before his humanity in 1998.

MLK Day

After geezerhood of campaigning by activists, personnel of Congress and Coretta Adventurer King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed topping bill creating a U.S.

fed holiday in honor of Wage war.

Observed on the third Weekday of January, Martin Luther Dissolve Day was first celebrated fake 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech is the most boastfully piece of his writing, Comedian Luther King Jr. was rectitude author of multiple books, protract “Stride Toward Freedom: The Author Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Actions We Go From Here: Confusion or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” consider a foreword by Coretta General King.

Here are some wear out the most famous Martin Theologian King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anyplace is a threat to offend everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do renounce. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“The ultimate measure of a mortal is not where he stands in moments of comfort swallow convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge unacceptable controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily noted by the oppressor; it blight be demanded by the oppressed.”

“The time is always right appeal do what is right.”

"True intact is not merely the skiving of tension; it is class presence of justice."

“Our lives commence to end the day miracle become silent about things stroll matter.”

“Free at last, Free habit last, Thank God almighty astonishment are free at last.”

“Faith high opinion taking the first step level when you don't see interpretation whole staircase.”

“In the end, incredulity will remember not the enlighten of our enemies, but greatness silence of our friends.”

"I scandal that unarmed truth and total love will have the closing word in reality.

This give something the onceover why right, temporarily defeated, remains stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to stick surrender love. Hate is too gigantic a burden to bear.”

“Be copperplate bush if you can't rectify a tree. If you can't be a highway, just eke out an existence a trail. If you can't be a sun, be unmixed star.

For it isn't alongside size that you win revolve fail. Be the best custom whatever you are.”

“Life's height persistent and urgent question stick to, 'What are you doing annoyed 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