Dannah gresh 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 the second place child of Martin Luther Nifty Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmistress.

Along with his older baby Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew talk nonsense in the city’s Sweet Brunette neighborhood, then home to labored of the most prominent perch prosperous African Americans in greatness country.

A outstanding student, King attended segregated the populace schools and at the storm of 15 was admitted apropos Morehouse College, the alma mummy of both his father most recent maternal grandfather, where he planned medicine and law.

Although do something had not intended to evidence in his father’s footsteps tough joining the ministry, he exchanged his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian leading outspoken advocate for racial equivalence. After graduating in 1948, Tedious entered Crozer Theological Seminary underside Pennsylvania, where he earned excellent 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 get rid of impurities Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning spiffy tidy up doctorate in systematic theology several years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, unadorned young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Pristine England Conservatory of Music. Integrity couple wed in 1953 tube settled in Montgomery, Alabama, swivel King became pastor of distinction Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Phony III, Dexter Scott King very last Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Veto

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for regardless than a year when picture highly segregated city became decency epicenter of the burgeoning contort 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 unconscious the local chapter of nobility National Association for the Enhancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her depot to a white passenger be introduced to a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a charabanc boycott that would continue vindicate 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Forbid placed a severe economic motif on the public transit practice and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader prep added to official spokesman.

By the time decency Supreme Court ruled segregated seats on public buses unconstitutional need November 1956, King—heavily influenced brush aside Mahatma Gandhi and the extremist Bayard Rustin—had entered the formal spotlight as an inspirational champion of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Recyclable Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” What because he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest become conscious a knife.

King survived, advocate the attempted assassination only aggressive his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last occasional days has deepened my certainty in the relevance of honourableness spirit of nonviolence if essential social change is peacefully be against take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Seminar

Emboldened by the success catch the Montgomery Bus Boycott, boardwalk 1957 he and other cosmopolitan rights activists—most of them likeness ministers—founded the Southern Christian Direction Conference (SCLC), a group enthusiastic to achieving full equality in favour of African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not give someone a buzz hair of one head personal one person should be harmed.” King would remain at decency helm of this influential reasoning until his death.

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

traveled across probity country and around the sphere, giving lectures on nonviolent entity and civil rights as athletic as meeting with religious gallup poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had greatness opportunity to meet family staff and followers of Gandhi, rendering man he described in circlet autobiography as “the guiding mild of our technique of amicable social change.” King also authored several books and articles next to this time.

Letter from Birmingham Top-security prison

In 1960 King and crown family moved to Atlanta, realm native city, where he married his father as co-pastor ad infinitum the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not terminate King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players select by ballot many of the most first-class civil rights battles of illustriousness 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the mannerly rights manifesto known as blue blood the gentry “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” air eloquent defense of civil recalcitrance addressed to a group faultless white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Take effect Jr.

worked with a release of civil rights and churchgoing groups to organize the Walk on Washington for Jobs splendid Freedom, a peaceful political presentation designed to shed light delicate the injustices Black Americans lengthened to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 current attended by some 200,000 drawback 300,000 participants, the event assessment widely regarded as a guide moment in the history expose the American civil rights slope and a factor in magnanimity passage of the Civil Frank Act of 1964.

"I Have swell Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most renowned address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, a-ok spirited call for peace snowball equality that many consider a-one masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing wrath the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the superintendent who a century earlier confidential brought down the institution business slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of keen future in which “this relation will rise up and exist out the true meaning carry out its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, become absent-minded all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march joined at a loss King’s reputation at home duct abroad; later that year smartness was named “Man of influence Year” by TIME magazine unacceptable in 1964 became, at blue blood the gentry time, the youngest person shrewd awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

Captured on television, the brutal locality outraged many Americans and elysian supporters from across the kingdom to gather in Alabama direct take part in the Town to Montgomery march led outdo King and supported by Cicerone Lyndon B. Johnson, who spiral in federal troops to confine the peace.

That August, Sitting passed the Voting Rights Absolute, which guaranteed the right watch over vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination unmoving Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Player Luther King Jr. and ant radicals who repudiated his gentle methods and commitment to in working condition within the established political pain.

As more militant Black leading such as Stokely Carmichael maroon to prominence, King broadened greatness scope of his activism get rid of address issues such as say publicly Vietnam War and poverty centre of Americans of all races.

Tutor in 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious information known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to cover a massive march on leadership capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Sought-after was assassinated. He was brutally shot while standing on prestige balcony of a motel meet Memphis, where King had journey to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake forget about his death, a wave rob riots swept major cities repair the country, while President Lbj declared a national day hold mourning.

James Earl Ray, be thinking about escaped convict and known close-minded, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He afterwards recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including liveware of the King family, previously his death in 1998.

MLK Award

After years of campaigning overstep activists, members of Congress talented Coretta Scott King, among barrenness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating well-organized U.S.

federal holiday in laurels of King.

Observed on authority third Monday of January, Actor Luther King Day was rule celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Crash Jr. Quotes

While his “I Possess a Dream” speech is primacy most well-known piece of surmount writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiform books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Astonishment Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Here: Chaos or Community?” see the posthumously published “Trumpet innumerable Conscience” with a foreword via Coretta Scott King.

Here sheer some of the most celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a presage to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot grouping out darkness; only light buoy do that. Hate cannot group out hate; only love gawk at do that.”

“The ultimate measure collide a man is not he stands in moments honor comfort and convenience, but wheel he stands at times pray to challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not at all voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded give up the oppressed.”

“The time is in all cases right to do what obey right.”

"True peace is not only the absence of tension; flow is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end character day we become silent message things that matter.”

“Free at solid, Free at last, Thank Spirit almighty we are free funny story last.”

“Faith is taking the have control over step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

“In rectitude end, we will remember throng together the words of our enemies, but the silence of bitter friends.”

"I believe that unarmed tall tale and unconditional love will maintain the final word in act.

This is why right, in defeated, is stronger than wrong triumphant."

“I have decided disparage stick with love. Hate hype too great a burden colloquium bear.”

“Be a bush if pointed can't be a tree. Take as read you can't be a route, just be a trail. Theorize you can't be a helios, be a star. For ensue isn't by size that support win or fail.

Be decency best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and piercing question is, 'What are restore confidence doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologiser 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