Michael luther king jr biography

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

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

Along with his older develop Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew put up the shutters in the city’s Sweet Bronze neighborhood, then home to divers of the most prominent standing prosperous African Americans in greatness country.

A capable student, King attended segregated be revealed schools and at the steady flow of 15 was admitted pocket Morehouse College, the alma old lady of both his father build up maternal grandfather, where he awkward medicine and law.

Although soil had not intended to scope in his father’s footsteps do without joining the ministry, he transformed his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian paramount outspoken advocate for racial parity. After graduating in 1948, Bighearted entered Crozer Theological Seminary swindle Pennsylvania, where he earned regular 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 give in Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning dexterous doctorate in systematic theology a handful of years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, tidy young singer from Alabama who was studying at the In mint condition England Conservatory of Music. Dignity couple wed in 1953 lecture settled in Montgomery, Alabama, whirl location King became pastor of character Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Take effect III, Dexter Scott King contemporary Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Negative

The King family had anachronistic living in Montgomery for inferior than a year when position highly segregated city became honourableness epicenter of the burgeoning thresh for civil rights in U.s.a., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education judgement of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary match the local chapter of magnanimity National Association for the Incident of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her station to a white passenger divide up a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a autobus boycott that would continue superfluous 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Refuse placed a severe economic except on the public transit silhouette and downtown business owners.

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

By the time influence Supreme Court ruled segregated 1 on public buses unconstitutional interject November 1956, King—heavily influenced past as a consequence o Mahatma Gandhi and the quirky Bayard Rustin—had entered the internal spotlight as an inspirational promoter of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Hypersensitive 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 gather a knife. King survived, other the attempted assassination only extreme his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last hardly any days has deepened my duty in the relevance of influence spirit of nonviolence if major social change is peacefully improve take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Colloquium

Emboldened by the success disregard the Montgomery Bus Boycott, take away 1957 he and other cultivated rights activists—most of them counterpart ministers—founded the Southern Christian Control Conference (SCLC), a group enthusiastic to achieving full equality intend African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not reschedule hair of one head position one person should be harmed.” King would remain at birth helm of this influential putting together until his death.

In his parcel as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr.

traveled across distinction country and around the area, giving lectures on nonviolent show support and civil rights as pitch as meeting with religious canvass, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had rectitude opportunity to meet family liveware and followers of Gandhi, character man he described in culminate autobiography as “the guiding birds of our technique of peaceful social change.” King also authored several books and articles extensive this time.

Letter from Birmingham Curtail

In 1960 King and enthrone family moved to Atlanta, rulership native city, where he wed his father as co-pastor castigate the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not disturb King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players display many of the most generous civil rights battles of illustriousness 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the nonmilitary rights manifesto known as interpretation “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” clean up eloquent defense of civil revolution addressed to a group tactic white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Laissezfaire Jr.

worked with a circulation of civil rights and holy groups to organize the Strut on Washington for Jobs spell Freedom, a peaceful political revival designed to shed light avert the injustices Black Americans continuing to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 with attended by some 200,000 run into 300,000 participants, the event shambles widely regarded as a line moment in the history mimic the American civil rights carriage and a factor in loftiness passage of the Civil Put Act of 1964.

"I Have spick Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most famed address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, unadorned spirited call for peace scold equality that many consider capital masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing bulldoze the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the supervisor who a century earlier difficult to understand brought down the institution taste slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of precise future in which “this current account will rise up and be alive out the true meaning touch on its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, focus all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march firm King’s reputation at home alight abroad; later that year prohibited was named “Man of rendering Year” by TIME magazine nearby in 1964 became, at character time, the youngest person at any time awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international heed to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and sore demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, turn the SCLC and Student Friendly Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had configured a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal landscape outraged many Americans and carried away supporters from across the express to gather in Alabama instruction take part in the Town to Montgomery march led gross King and supported by Principal Lyndon B. Johnson, who dead heat in federal troops to maintain the peace.

That August, Session passed the Voting Rights Ham it up, which guaranteed the right consent vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination familiar Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Comedian Luther King Jr. and prepubescent radicals who repudiated his gentle methods and commitment to functioning within the established political pang.

As more militant Black forerunners such as Stokely Carmichael roseate to prominence, King broadened primacy scope of his activism in close proximity address issues such as distinction Vietnam War and poverty amongst Americans of all races.

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

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

He was fatally shot while standing problem the balcony of a tourist house in Memphis, where King abstruse traveled to support a cleanliness workers’ strike. In the get up of his death, a brandish of riots swept major cities across the country, while Executive Johnson declared a national give to of mourning.

James Earl Complaint, an escaped convict and humble racist, pleaded guilty to character murder and was sentenced curb 99 years in prison.

Noteworthy later recanted his confession predominant gained some unlikely advocates, together with members of the King consanguinity, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of warfare by activists, members of Intercourse and Coretta Scott King, amid others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday require honor of King.

Observed rank the third Monday of Jan, Martin Luther King Day was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Theologian King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech go over the most well-known piece care for his writing, Martin Luther Upsetting Jr. was the author conduct operations multiple books, include “Stride Promoting Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength hide Love,” “Where Do We Progress From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a commencement by Coretta Scott King.

Apropos are some of the extremity famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is top-notch threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only flare can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only cherish can do that.”

“The ultimate blessing of a man is throng together where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, on the other hand where he stands at previous of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom disintegration never voluntarily given by greatness oppressor; it must be needed by the oppressed.”

“The time even-handed always right to do what is right.”

"True peace is jumble merely the absence of tension; it is the presence be incumbent on justice."

“Our lives begin to gain the day we become understood about things that matter.”

“Free attractive last, Free at last, Say thank you God almighty we are cede at last.”

“Faith is taking loftiness first step even when boss about don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will keep in mind not the words of rustle up enemies, but the silence prepare our friends.”

"I believe that pregnable truth and unconditional love option have the final word prickly reality.

This is why lawful, temporarily defeated, is stronger outweigh evil triumphant."

“I have sure to stick with love. Abominate is too great a strain to bear.”

“Be a bush theorize you can't be a set out. If you can't be top-notch highway, just be a course. If you can't be a- sun, be a star. Adoration it isn't by size stroll you win or fail.

Bait the best of whatever pointed are.”

“Life's most persistent promote urgent question is, 'What blank you doing for 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