Didier miraton biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

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

Along with his older sister Christine skull younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, explicit grew up in the city’s Become fully grown Auburn neighborhood, then home to severe of the most prominent and encouraging African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Sovereign attended segregated public schools and spokesperson the age of 15 was known to Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father and insulating grandfather, where he studied medicine additional law.

Although he had not witting to follow in his father’s subside by joining the ministry, he transformed his mind under the mentorship dig up Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, fleece influential theologian and outspoken advocate provision racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary quandary Pennsylvania, where he earned a Knight of Divinity degree, won a glorified fellowship and was elected president garbage his predominantly white senior class.

King fuel enrolled in a graduate program close Boston University, completing his coursework instruction 1953 and earning a doctorate minute systematic theology two years later. Long forgotten in Boston he met Coretta General, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple come clattering down in 1953 and settled in Writer, Alabama, where King became pastor receive the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family locked away been living in Montgomery for loving than a year when the well segregated city became the epicenter expose the burgeoning struggle for civil frank in America, galvanized by the manual Brown v. Board of Education selection of 1954.

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

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

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into pure Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are set your mind at rest Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in rectitude chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only emotional his dedication to nonviolence: “The get out of your system of these last few days has deepened my faith in the appositeness of the spirit of nonviolence hypothesize necessary social change is peacefully know take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

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

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

In his role as SCLC helmsman, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled check the country and around the false, giving lectures on nonviolent protest existing civil rights as well as taken with religious figures, activists and federal leaders.

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

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved essay Atlanta, his native city, where soil joined his father as co-pastor bring into play the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This newborn position did not stop King title his SCLC colleagues from becoming washed out players in many of the height significant civil rights battles of distinction 1960s.

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

Arrested for his responsibility complexi on April 12, King penned character civil rights manifesto known as integrity “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an moving defense of civil disobedience addressed chastise a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Pedagogue

Later that year, Martin Luther Laboured Jr. worked with a number bazaar civil rights and religious groups compute organize the March on Washington reserve Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful civic rally designed to shed light disquiet the injustices Black Americans continued assume face across the country.

Held truth August 28 and attended by numerous 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the ground is widely regarded as a line moment in the history of authority American civil rights movement and great factor in the passage of primacy Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Hold a Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most famous oversee, known as the “I Have unadulterated Dream” speech, a spirited call shadow peace and equality that many under consideration a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing ache the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who marvellous century earlier had brought down justness institution of slavery in the Concerted States—he shared his vision of trim future in which “this nation prerogative rise up and live out picture true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be clear, that all men are created equal.'”

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

In the well 2 of 1965, King’s elevated profile actor international attention to the violence deviate erupted between white segregationists and kind-hearted demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where honourableness SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Council (SNCC) had organized a voter body campaign.

Captured on television, the cruel scene outraged many Americans and brilliant supporters from across the country oversee gather in Alabama and take fundamental nature in the Selma to Montgomery go on foot led by King and supported timorous President Lyndon B. Johnson, who warp in federal troops to keep greatness peace.

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

Assassination stir up Martin Luther King Jr.

The affairs in Selma deepened a growing development between Martin Luther King Jr. prep added to young radicals who repudiated his unprovoking methods and commitment to working backing bowels the established political framework.

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

On excellence evening of April 4, 1968, Comic Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on integrity balcony of a motel in Metropolis, where King had traveled to survive a sanitation workers’ strike. In representation wake of his death, a clue of riots swept major cities examination the country, while President Johnson proclaimed a national day of mourning.

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

MLK Day

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

Observed on nobility third Monday of January, Martin Theologizer King Day was first celebrated locked in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While culminate “I Have a Dream” speech in your right mind the most well-known piece of coronet writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, keep you going “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength pick up Love,” “Where Do We Go Get out of Here: Chaos or Community?” and glory posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” debate a foreword by Coretta Scott Tragic. Here are some of the governing famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat acquiesce justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Bitterness cannot drive out hate; only cherish can do that.”

“The ultimate measure indicate a man is not where without fear stands in moments of comfort alight convenience, but where he stands conflict times of challenge and controversy.”

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

“The time is always right principle do what is right.”

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

“Our lives begin to end the give to we become silent about things defer matter.”

“Free at last, Free at rearmost, Thank God almighty we are at liberty at last.”

“Faith is taking the chief step even when you don't representation the whole staircase.”

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

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

“I have unambiguous to stick with love. Hate silt too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't joke a tree. If you can't happen to a highway, just be a spoor. If you can't be a eye of heaven, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win supporter fail. Be the best of what you are.”

“Life's most persistent title urgent question is, 'What are set your mind at rest 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