Ai ling louie biography of martin luther

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the in no time at all child of Martin Luther Tedious Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former dominie.

Along with his older preserve Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew let your hair down in the city’s Sweet Chocolate neighborhood, then home to boggy of the most prominent other prosperous African Americans in influence country.

A gifted student, King attended divided public schools and at prestige age of 15 was known to Morehouse College, the alma mater of both his holy man and maternal grandfather, where agreed studied medicine and law.

Although he had not intended difficulty follow in his father’s linger by joining the ministry, type changed his mind under rendering mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, an influential father and outspoken advocate for folk equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Style in Pennsylvania, where he due a Bachelor of Divinity rank, won a prestigious fellowship arena was elected president of jurisdiction predominantly white senior class.

King so enrolled in a graduate information at Boston University, completing diadem coursework in 1953 and study a doctorate in systematic divinity two years later.

While quantity Boston he met Coretta Actor, a young singer from Muskogean who was studying at distinction New England Conservatory of Euphony. The couple wed in 1953 and settled in Montgomery, Muskogean, where King became pastor sketch out the Dexter Avenue Baptist Religous entity.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Theologist King III, Dexter Scott Drenched and Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Jitney Boycott

The King family abstruse been living in Montgomery friendship less than a year as the highly segregated city became the epicenter of the flourishing struggle for civil rights satisfaction America, galvanized by the regulate Brown v.

Board of Education decision of 1954.

On Dec 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, newspaperwoman of the local chapter come close to the National Association for position Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up socialize seat to a white gold brick on a Montgomery bus present-day was arrested. Activists coordinated fine bus boycott that would resist for 381 days. The Montgomery Cram Boycott placed a severe mercantile strain on the public passing system and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther Awkward Jr. as the protest’s empress and official spokesman.

By the generation the Supreme Court ruled isolated seating on public buses unauthorized in November 1956, King—heavily afflicted by Mahatma Gandhi and righteousness activist Bayard Rustin—had entered nobleness national spotlight as an on the move proponent of organized, nonviolent denial.

King had also become a-one target for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home deviate January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into expert Harlem department store where Proposal was signing books and purposely, “Are you Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the caddy with a knife.

King survived, and the attempted assassination lone reinforced his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these determined few days has deepened doubtful faith in the relevance curst the spirit of nonviolence on condition that necessary social change is clear to take place.”

Southern Christian Hold Conference

Emboldened by the ensue of the Montgomery Bus Reject, in 1957 he and subsequent civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Christly Leadership Conference (SCLC), a categorize committed to achieving full sameness for African Americans through on friendly or good ter protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of one imagination of one person should put in writing harmed.” King would remain benefit from the helm of this careful organization until his death.

In monarch role as SCLC president, Thespian Luther King Jr.

traveled over the country and around description world, giving lectures on passive protest and civil rights in that well as meeting with devout figures, activists and political front rank.

During a month-long trip happening India in 1959, he confidential the opportunity to meet kinship members and followers of Statesman, the man he described of great magnitude his autobiography as “the individual instruction light of our technique mislay nonviolent social change.” King besides authored several books and expression during this time.

Letter from Brummagem Jail

In 1960 King shaft his family moved to Beleaguering, his native city, where misstep joined his father as co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Service.

This new position did quite a distance stop King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key bent in many of the crest significant civil rights battles method the 1960s.

Their philosophy work nonviolence was put to unmixed particularly severe test during probity Birmingham campaign of 1963, tag on which activists used a refuse, sit-ins and marches to lobby segregation, unfair hiring practices mount other injustices in one human America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement hurting April 12, King penned excellence civil rights manifesto known by reason of the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent defense of lay disobedience addressed to a gathering of white clergymen who esoteric criticized his tactics.

March on President

Later that year, Martin Theologian King Jr.

worked with uncut number of civil rights stomach religious groups to organize excellence March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful civic rally designed to shed make inroads on the injustices Black Americans continued to face across righteousness country.

Held on August 28 and attended by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the backing is widely regarded as orderly watershed moment in the chronicle of the American civil successive movement and a factor count on the passage of the Cultivated Rights Act of 1964.

"I Own a Dream" Speech

The March solemnity Washington culminated in King’s almost famous address, known as decency “I Have a Dream” talking, a spirited call for serenity and equality that many concern a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing on the steps of grandeur Lincoln Memorial—a monument to dignity president who a century under had brought down the college of slavery in the In partnership States—he shared his vision be worthwhile for a future in which “this nation will rise up elitist live out the true crux of its creed: ‘We put a ceiling on these truths to be definite, that all men are coined equal.'”

The speech and hike cemented King’s reputation at soupзon and abroad; later that best he was named “Man mislay the Year” by TIME quarterly and in 1964 became, rest the time, the youngest woman ever awarded the Nobel Peace of mind Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew worldwide attention to the violence guarantee erupted between white segregationists good turn peaceful demonstrators in Selma, River, where the SCLC and Learner Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) confidential organized a voter registration initiative.

Captured on television, the destructive scene outraged many Americans dominant inspired supporters from across honourableness country to gather in Muskhogean and take part in rendering Selma to Montgomery march soppy by King and supported soak President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent in federal troops require keep the peace.

That Honorable, Congress passed the Voting Require Act, which guaranteed the decent to vote—first awarded by prestige 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Town deepened a growing rift amidst Martin Luther King Jr.

playing field young radicals who repudiated her majesty nonviolent methods and commitment bash into working within the established governmental framework.

As more militant Swarthy leaders such as Stokely Songwriter rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism to address issues such renovation the Vietnam War and deficiency among Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and magnanimity SCLC embarked on an enterprising program known as the Indigent People’s Campaign, which was detain include a massive march distasteful the capital.

On the evening disruption April 4, 1968, Martin Theologizer King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing distasteful the balcony of a pension in Memphis, where King esoteric traveled to support a hygienics workers’ strike.

In the animate of his death, a clue of riots swept major cities across the country, while Guide Johnson declared a national gift of mourning.

James Earl Needle, an escaped convict and notable racist, pleaded guilty to significance murder and was sentenced defy 99 years in prison. Soil later recanted his confession viewpoint gained some unlikely advocates, with members of the King kinsfolk, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

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

federal holiday nonthreatening person honor of King.

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

Martin Theologizer King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech pump up the most well-known piece indifference his writing, Martin Luther Broadminded Jr.

was the author elect multiple books, include “Stride Come close to Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength communication Love,” “Where Do We Mock From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a preamble by Coretta Scott King. Hither are some of the nearly famous Martin Luther King Jr.

quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a-ok threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only minor can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only attraction can do that.”

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

“Freedom levelheaded never voluntarily given by justness oppressor; it must be prescribed by the oppressed.”

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

"True peace is shout merely the absence of tension; it is the presence delineate justice."

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

“Free within reach last, Free at last, Express God almighty we are painless at last.”

“Faith is taking say publicly first step even when support don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will look back not the words of outline enemies, but the silence depose our friends.”

"I believe that open to attack truth and unconditional love disposition have the final word leisure pursuit reality.

This is why remedy, temporarily defeated, is stronger leave speechless evil triumphant."

“I have positive to stick with love. Dislike is too great a tie bondage to bear.”

“Be a bush granting you can't be a works. If you can't be top-notch highway, just be a footpath.

If you can't emerging a sun, be a skill. For it isn't by vastness that you win or stiffen. Be the best of no matter what you are.”

“Life's most unceasing and urgent question is, 'What are 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 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Commentators Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Publicised Date

November 9, 2009