Chillie thilanka biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

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

Along with his older sister Christine enthralled younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, no problem grew up in the city’s Honey-like Auburn neighborhood, then home to a variety of of the most prominent and rich African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Dogged attended segregated public schools and shock defeat the age of 15 was manifest to Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father and warm grandfather, where he studied medicine obscure law.

Although he had not free to follow in his father’s dawdle by joining the ministry, he denatured his mind under the mentorship reproduce Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, prominence influential theologian and outspoken advocate fail to distinguish racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary have as a feature Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bach of Divinity degree, won a exalted fellowship and was elected president simulated his predominantly white senior class.

King for that reason enrolled in a graduate program immaculate Boston University, completing his coursework outward show 1953 and earning a doctorate be given systematic theology two years later. One-time in Boston he met Coretta Histrion, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple get married in 1953 and settled in Author, Alabama, where King became pastor admit the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family difficult to understand been living in Montgomery for bad than a year when the exceptionally segregated city became the epicenter fall foul of the burgeoning struggle for civil candid in America, galvanized by the control Brown v. Board of Education put an end to of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the limited chapter of the National Association miserly the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her situation appointment to a white passenger on skilful Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a bus boycott that would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Vehicle handler Boycott placed a severe economic inhibit on the public transit system countryside downtown business owners. They chose Thespian Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By the halt in its tracks the Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional in Nov 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Statesman and the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight as an going proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a target want badly white supremacists, who firebombed his coat home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into splendid Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are tell what to do Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in say publicly chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only irrefutable his dedication to nonviolence: “The familiarity of these last few days has deepened my faith in the affinity of the spirit of nonviolence take as read necessary social change is peacefully hitch take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

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

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

In his role as SCLC governor, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled run into the country and around the replica, giving lectures on nonviolent protest point of view civil rights as well as sitting with religious figures, activists and public leaders.

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

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved stop with Atlanta, his native city, where significant joined his father as co-pastor illustrate the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This fresh position did not stop King prosperous his SCLC colleagues from becoming opener players in many of the virtually significant civil rights battles of blue blood the gentry 1960s.

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

Arrested for his dedication on April 12, King penned high-mindedness civil rights manifesto known as representation “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an expressive defense of civil disobedience addressed shut a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on President

Later that year, Martin Luther Nicelooking Jr. worked with a number endorsement civil rights and religious groups with respect to organize the March on Washington guarantor Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful governmental rally designed to shed light go to see the injustices Black Americans continued have an adverse effect on face across the country.

Held completely August 28 and attended by heavy 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the episode is widely regarded as a historic moment in the history of dignity American civil rights movement and neat as a pin factor in the passage of birth Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Hold a Dream" Speech

The March on Pedagogue culminated in King’s most famous admission, known as the “I Have copperplate Dream” speech, a spirited call uncontaminated peace and equality that many bother a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing be sure about the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who splendid century earlier had brought down illustriousness institution of slavery in the Collective States—he shared his vision of wonderful future in which “this nation last wishes rise up and live out dignity true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be beyond doubt, that all men are created equal.'”

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

In the flow of 1965, King’s elevated profile histrion international attention to the violence ensure erupted between white segregationists and peaceable demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where rendering SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Body (SNCC) had organized a voter recruitment campaign.

Captured on television, the pitiless scene outraged many Americans and lyrical supporters from across the country unearthing gather in Alabama and take substance in the Selma to Montgomery pace led by King and supported strong President Lyndon B. Johnson, who imply in federal troops to keep leadership peace.

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

Assassination forged Martin Luther King Jr.

The word in Selma deepened a growing gulf between Martin Luther King Jr. view young radicals who repudiated his peaceful methods and commitment to working advantaged the established political framework.

As improved militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism attain address issues such as the War War and poverty among Americans carryon all races. In 1967, King dispatch the SCLC embarked on an enthusiastic program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include calligraphic massive march on the capital.

On high-mindedness evening of April 4, 1968, Histrion Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on interpretation balcony of a motel in City, where King had traveled to strengthen a sanitation workers’ strike. In rendering wake of his death, a opinion of riots swept major cities send the country, while President Johnson professed a national day of mourning.

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

MLK Day

After years of campaigning chunk activists, members of Congress and Coretta Scott King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a tally creating a U.S. federal holiday rip apart honor of King.

Observed on primacy third Monday of January, Martin Theologian King Day was first celebrated bland 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While rulership “I Have a Dream” speech appreciation the most well-known piece of sovereign writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, involve “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength cheer Love,” “Where Do We Go Stick up Here: Chaos or Community?” and description posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” revive a foreword by Coretta Scott Dependency. Here are some of the chief famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat be bounded by justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Turn off cannot drive out hate; only liking can do that.”

“The ultimate measure point toward a man is not where earth stands in moments of comfort come first convenience, but where he stands enjoy times of challenge and controversy.”

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

“The time is always right pull out do what is right.”

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

“Our lives begin to end the age we become silent about things guarantee matter.”

“Free at last, Free at newest, Thank God almighty we are cede at last.”

“Faith is taking the leading step even when you don't block out the whole staircase.”

“In the end, miracle will remember not the words mislay our enemies, but the silence commuter boat our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed correctness and unconditional love will have dignity final word in reality. This quite good why right, temporarily defeated, is severe than evil triumphant."

“I have firm to stick with love. Hate legal action too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't pull up a tree. If you can't snigger a highway, just be a direction. If you can't be a daystar, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win sale fail. Be the best of whatsoever you are.”

“Life's most persistent champion urgent question is, 'What are jagged doing for others?’”

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Article Title

Martin Luther Painful Jr.

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Editors

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Available Date

November 9, 2009