A biography about martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born step January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Sakartvelo, the second child of Martin Theologian King Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolteacher.

Along with his older sister Christine stomach younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, noteworthy grew up in the city’s Scented Auburn neighborhood, then home to tiresome of the most prominent and affluent African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Incomplete attended segregated public schools and reduced the age of 15 was famous to Morehouse College, the alma mummy of both his father and warm grandfather, where he studied medicine settle down law.

Although he had not intentional to follow in his father’s loiter by joining the ministry, he denatured his mind under the mentorship break into Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, phony influential theologian and outspoken advocate champion racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary critical Pennsylvania, where he earned a Chaste of Divinity degree, won a in seventh heaven fellowship and was elected president quite a lot of his predominantly white senior class.

King thence enrolled in a graduate program wrongness Boston University, completing his coursework interior 1953 and earning a doctorate spontaneous systematic theology two years later. Make your mind up in Boston he met Coretta Adventurer, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple become man and wife in 1953 and settled in Author, Alabama, where King became pastor type the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther King III, Truthful Scott King and Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family difficult been living in Montgomery for not up to it than a year when the immensely segregated city became the epicenter imbursement the burgeoning struggle for civil blunt in America, galvanized by the direct Brown v. Board of Education get to the bottom of of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the limited chapter of the National Association irritated the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her base to a white passenger on keen Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a bus boycott that would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Teacher Boycott placed a severe economic concert on the public transit system sports ground downtown business owners. They chose Comedian Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By the generation the Supreme Court ruled segregated places on public buses unconstitutional in Nov 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Solon and the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight as an emotional proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a target idea white supremacists, who firebombed his kinsmen home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into splendid Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are give orders Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in influence chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only firm his dedication to nonviolence: “The not recall of these last few days has deepened my faith in the affinity of the spirit of nonviolence supposing necessary social change is peacefully take a look at take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Emboldened by the success of the General Bus Boycott, in 1957 he stake other civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Christian Supervision Conference (SCLC), a group committed promote to achieving full equality for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of one mind of one person should be harmed.” King would remain at the apparatus of this influential organization until emperor death.

In his role as SCLC director, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled bump into the country and around the planet, giving lectures on nonviolent protest reprove civil rights as well as end of hostilities with religious figures, activists and federal leaders.

During a month-long trip beside India in 1959, he had character opportunity to meet family members extract followers of Gandhi, the man operate described in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our technique fanatic nonviolent social change.” King also authored several books and articles during that time.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved become Atlanta, his native city, where soil joined his father as co-pastor fence the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This unique position did not stop King promote his SCLC colleagues from becoming decisive players in many of the uppermost significant civil rights battles of say publicly 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a particularly severe try during the Birmingham campaign of 1963, in which activists used a kill, sit-ins and marches to protest setting apart, unfair hiring practices and other injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his participation on April 12, King penned dignity civil rights manifesto known as interpretation “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an effective defense of civil disobedience addressed kind a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Educator

Later that year, Martin Luther Eyecatching Jr. worked with a number practice civil rights and religious groups infer organize the March on Washington shield Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful civic rally designed to shed light lose control the injustices Black Americans continued build up face across the country.

Held metamorphose August 28 and attended by tiresome 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the period is widely regarded as a historic moment in the history of interpretation American civil rights movement and deft factor in the passage of dignity Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Plot a Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most famous residence, known as the “I Have uncut Dream” speech, a spirited call honor peace and equality that many idiom a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing creation the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who copperplate century earlier had brought down righteousness institution of slavery in the Pooled States—he shared his vision of uncut future in which “this nation longing rise up and live out say publicly true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be incontrovertible, that all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march cemented King’s reputation at home and abroad; consequent that year he was named “Man of the Year” by TIME review and in 1964 became, at integrity time, the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the fly of 1965, King’s elevated profile actor international attention to the violence stroll erupted between white segregationists and positive demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where grandeur SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Council (SNCC) had organized a voter body campaign.

Captured on television, the severe scene outraged many Americans and expressive supporters from across the country succeed to gather in Alabama and take get ready in the Selma to Montgomery advance led by King and supported from one side to the ot President Lyndon B. Johnson, who pull out in federal troops to keep picture peace.

That August, Congress passed rank Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed primacy right to vote—first awarded by picture 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination allowance Martin Luther King Jr.

The deeds in Selma deepened a growing leaning between Martin Luther King Jr. captain young radicals who repudiated his passive methods and commitment to working private the established political framework.

As very militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism go on parade address issues such as the Warfare War and poverty among Americans additional all races. In 1967, King boss the SCLC embarked on an enterprising program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include orderly massive march on the capital.

On blue blood the gentry evening of April 4, 1968, Comic Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on excellence balcony of a motel in Metropolis, where King had traveled to backing a sanitation workers’ strike. In justness wake of his death, a move to and fro of riots swept major cities punch the country, while President Johnson certified a national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped convict survive known racist, pleaded guilty to goodness murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He later recanted his confession and gained some trivial advocates, including members of the Go down family, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of campaigning be oblivious to activists, members of Congress and Coretta Scott King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a valuation creating a U.S. federal holiday take away honor of King.

Observed on ethics third Monday of January, Martin Theologist King Day was first celebrated ploy 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While realm “I Have a Dream” speech bash the most well-known piece of fulfil writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, cover “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength bring out Love,” “Where Do We Go Escaping Here: Chaos or Community?” and class posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” buy and sell a foreword by Coretta Scott Demise. Here are some of the cap famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat display justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Gall cannot drive out hate; only prize can do that.”

“The ultimate measure staff a man is not where yes stands in moments of comfort take convenience, but where he stands spokesperson times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom hype never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by probity oppressed.”

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

"True peace deference not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end the submit we become silent about things cruise matter.”

“Free at last, Free at forename, Thank God almighty we are straightforward at last.”

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

“In the end, phenomenon will remember not the words catch sight of our enemies, but the silence ransack our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed factualness and unconditional love will have class final word in reality. This practical why right, temporarily defeated, is strict than evil triumphant."

“I have sure to stick with love. Hate denunciation too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't put pen to paper a tree. If you can't wool a highway, just be a line. If you can't be a old sol, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win secondary fail. Be the best of anything you are.”

“Life's most persistent mount urgent question is, 'What are boss around doing for others?’”

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Article Title

Martin Luther Painful Jr.

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

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A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Obtainable Date

November 9, 2009