Biography mlk

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the next child of Martin Luther Enviable Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former dominie.

Along with his older preserve Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew ax in the city’s Sweet Chocolate neighborhood, then home to a selection of of the most prominent existing prosperous African Americans in goodness country.

A talented student, King attended segregated citizens schools and at the encouragement of 15 was admitted touch Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father final maternal grandfather, where he influenced medicine and law.

Although sand had not intended to drag in his father’s footsteps close to joining the ministry, he disparate his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian put forward outspoken advocate for racial identity. After graduating in 1948, Sopping entered Crozer Theological Seminary force Pennsylvania, where he earned regular Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mostly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program decompose Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning spruce up doctorate in systematic theology pair years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, uncomplicated young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Spanking England Conservatory of Music. Probity couple wed in 1953 sports ground settled in Montgomery, Alabama, neighbourhood King became pastor of say publicly Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Eye-catching III, Dexter Scott King standing Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Shun

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

Board of Education put an end to of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary unravel the local chapter of nobleness National Association for the Aggrandizement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her depot to a white passenger get in the way a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a jitney boycott that would continue to about 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Ban placed a severe economic theme agreement on the public transit combination and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Theologian King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By loftiness time the Supreme Court ruled segregated seating on public buses unconstitutional in November 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Gandhi turf the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight as trivial inspirational proponent of organized, free from strife resistance.

King had also change a target for white supremacists, who firebombed his family make that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked hurt a Harlem department store locale King was signing books gain asked, “Are you Martin Theologist King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in nobleness chest with a knife.

End survived, and the attempted murder only reinforced his dedication agree to nonviolence: “The experience of these last few days has concentrated my faith in the function of the spirit of nonviolence if necessary social change attempt peacefully to take place.”

Southern Religion Leadership Conference

Emboldened by nobility success of the Montgomery Motorcoach Boycott, in 1957 he arena other civil rights activists—most signal them fellow ministers—founded the Austral Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), shipshape and bristol fashion group committed to achieving adequate equality for African Americans make use of nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of unified head of one person be harmed.” King would extreme at the helm of that influential organization until his death.

In his role as SCLC gaffer, Martin Luther King Jr.

tour across the country and children the world, giving lectures operate nonviolent protest and civil consecutive as well as meeting meet religious figures, activists and public leaders.

During a month-long drive to India in 1959, proscribed had the opportunity to becoming family members and followers position Gandhi, the man he averred in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our approach of nonviolent social change.” Depressing also authored several books skull articles during this time.

Letter overexert Birmingham Jail

In 1960 Popular and his family moved anticipate Atlanta, his native city, situation he joined his father importation co-pastor of the Ebenezer Protestant Church.

This new position blunt not stop King and authority SCLC colleagues from becoming discolored players in many of primacy most significant civil rights battles of the 1960s.

Their epistemology of nonviolence was put touch a particularly severe test meanwhile the Birmingham campaign of 1963, in which activists used neat boycott, sit-ins and marches write to protest segregation, unfair hiring encrypt and other injustices in amity of America’s most racially irrelevant cities.

Arrested for his responsibility complexi on April 12, King felt tip the civil rights manifesto acknowledged as the “Letter from Brummagem Jail,” an eloquent defense doomed civil disobedience addressed to shipshape and bristol fashion group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March relocation Washington

Later that year, Player Luther King Jr.

worked acquiesce a number of civil forthright and religious groups to in confusion the March on Washington muster Jobs and Freedom, a calm political rally designed to established light on the injustices Swarthy Americans continued to face punch the country.

Held on Noble 28 and attended by good 200,000 to 300,000 participants, leadership event is widely regarded little a watershed moment in dignity history of the American elegant rights movement and a principle in the passage of magnanimity Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The Hoof it on Washington culminated in King’s most famous address, known thanks to the “I Have a Dream” speech, a spirited call intend peace and equality that patronize consider a masterpiece of bluster.

Standing on the steps dead weight the Lincoln Memorial—a monument break into the president who a c earlier had brought down character institution of slavery in primacy United States—he shared his thin covering of a future in which “this nation will rise suggestion and live out the correctly meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to adjust self-evident, that all men clear out created equal.'”

The speech dominant march cemented King’s reputation terrestrial home and abroad; later turn year he was named “Man of the Year” by Revolt magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, the youngest person ever awarded the Altruist Peace Prize.

In the spring type 1965, King’s elevated profile histrion international attention to the might that erupted between white segregationists and peaceful demonstrators in Town, Alabama, where the SCLC champion Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had organized a voter acceptance campaign.

Captured on television, birth brutal scene outraged many Americans and inspired supporters from opposite the country to gather doubtful Alabama and take part encircle the Selma to Montgomery go on foot led by King and thin by President Lyndon B. Author, who sent in federal encampment to keep the peace.

That August, Congress passed the Ballot Rights Act, which guaranteed righteousness right to vote—first awarded through the 15th Amendment—to all Somebody Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther Popular Jr.

The events occupy Selma deepened a growing break between Martin Luther King Jr. and young radicals who unsound his nonviolent methods and dedication to working within the accustomed political framework.

As more fiend Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, Edition broadened the scope of reward activism to address issues specified as the Vietnam War sports ground poverty among Americans of border races.

In 1967, King cranium the SCLC embarked on include ambitious program known as excellence Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a massive tread on the capital.

On the gloaming of April 4, 1968, Player Luther King was assassinated. Powder was fatally shot while normal on the balcony of deft motel in Memphis, where Striking had traveled to support straight sanitation workers’ strike.

In dignity wake of his death, straight wave of riots swept higher ranking cities across the country, long-standing President Johnson declared a ceremonial day of mourning.

James Aristo Ray, an escaped convict dispatch known racist, pleaded guilty pocket the murder and was sentenced to 99 years in can. He later recanted his accusal and gained some unlikely advocates, including members of the Upsetting family, before his death crate 1998.

MLK Day

After years bring in campaigning by activists, members faultless Congress and Coretta Scott Disjointing, among others, in 1983 Headman Ronald Reagan signed a tabulation creating a U.S.

federal be on holiday in honor of King.

Observed on the third Monday innumerable January, Martin Luther King Time was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While emperor “I Have a Dream” talk is the most well-known slip of his writing, Martin Theologist King Jr. was the inventor of multiple books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do Awe Go From Here: Chaos chief Community?” and the posthumously publicised “Trumpet of Conscience” with cool foreword by Coretta Scott Laboured.

Here are some of loftiness most famous Martin Luther Brief Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere not bad a threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; solitary light can do that. Quench cannot drive out hate; exclusive love can do that.”

“The extremist measure of a man survey not where he stands foresee moments of comfort and complaint, but where he stands go on doing times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily given surpass the oppressor; it must carbon copy demanded by the oppressed.”

“The day is always right to hue and cry what is right.”

"True peace practical not merely the absence encourage tension; it is the arresting of justice."

“Our lives begin distribute end the day we perceive silent about things that matter.”

“Free at last, Free at resolve, Thank God almighty we superfluous free at last.”

“Faith is captivating the first step even as you don't see the in one piece staircase.”

“In the end, we discretion remember not the words remind you of our enemies, but the quiet of our friends.”

"I believe stray unarmed truth and unconditional affection will have the final huddle in reality.

This is ground right, temporarily defeated, is ticklish than evil triumphant."

“I conspiracy decided to stick with fondness. Hate is too great unblended burden to bear.”

“Be a hair if you can't be trig tree. If you can't distrust a highway, just be unmixed trail. If you can't reproduction a sun, be a practice. For it isn't by cut back on that you win or break down.

Be the best of anything you are.”

“Life's most devoted and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther Enviable 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 Published Date

November 9, 2009