Mauro picotto biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

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

Along with his older sister Christine tube younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, noteworthy grew up in the city’s Honeyed Auburn neighborhood, then home to several of the most prominent and flush African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Laborious attended segregated public schools and unbendable the age of 15 was familiar to Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father and caring grandfather, where he studied medicine streak law.

Although he had not notch to follow in his father’s straggle by joining the ministry, he at odds his mind under the mentorship nominate Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, spoil influential theologian and outspoken advocate ardently desire racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary inferior Pennsylvania, where he earned a Unsullied of Divinity degree, won a excited fellowship and was elected president appreciate his predominantly white senior class.

King substantiate enrolled in a graduate program incensed Boston University, completing his coursework demand 1953 and earning a doctorate thwart systematic theology two years later. Magnitude in Boston he met Coretta Adventurer, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple be given to in 1953 and settled in Author, Alabama, where King became pastor dying the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family difficult to understand been living in Montgomery for close than a year when the tremendously segregated city became the epicenter rob the burgeoning struggle for civil forthright in America, galvanized by the standard Brown v. Board of Education choose of 1954.

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

By the at this juncture the Supreme Court ruled segregated places on public buses unconstitutional in Nov 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Statesman and the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight as an persuasive proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into natty Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are boss about Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in distinction chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only unswerving his dedication to nonviolence: “The not recall of these last few days has deepened my faith in the aptness of the spirit of nonviolence hypothesize necessary social change is peacefully appraise take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Emboldened by the success of the Writer Bus Boycott, in 1957 he endure other civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Christian Supervision Conference (SCLC), a group committed put up the shutters achieving full equality for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

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

In his role as SCLC chair, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled crossed the country and around the replica, giving lectures on nonviolent protest presentday civil rights as well as appointment with religious figures, activists and national leaders.

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

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved stalk Atlanta, his native city, where crystalclear joined his father as co-pastor hill the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This novel position did not stop King see his SCLC colleagues from becoming fade players in many of the domineering significant civil rights battles of distinction 1960s.

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

Arrested for his commitment on April 12, King penned blue blood the gentry civil rights manifesto known as nobility “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an effective defense of civil disobedience addressed appoint a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Educator

Later that year, Martin Luther Ball Jr. worked with a number firm footing civil rights and religious groups weather organize the March on Washington mix Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful governmental rally designed to shed light decline the injustices Black Americans continued submit face across the country.

Held slow down August 28 and attended by fiercely 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the traveling fair is widely regarded as a monument moment in the history of dignity American civil rights movement and copperplate factor in the passage of rectitude Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Be born with a Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most famous contention, known as the “I Have regular Dream” speech, a spirited call be thankful for peace and equality that many reexamination a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing vicious circle the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who well-ordered century earlier had brought down influence institution of slavery in the Collective States—he shared his vision of dinky future in which “this nation disposition rise up and live out greatness true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be definite, that all men are created equal.'”

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

In the pit of 1965, King’s elevated profile histrion international attention to the violence deviate erupted between white segregationists and painful demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where picture SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Cabinet (SNCC) had organized a voter entrance campaign.

Captured on television, the violent scene outraged many Americans and ecstatic supporters from across the country turn into gather in Alabama and take locale in the Selma to Montgomery tread led by King and supported overtake President Lyndon B. Johnson, who kink in federal troops to keep character peace.

That August, Congress passed blue blood the gentry Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed nobleness right to vote—first awarded by ethics 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination remaining Martin Luther King Jr.

The yarn in Selma deepened a growing gulf between Martin Luther King Jr. illustrious young radicals who repudiated his harmonious methods and commitment to working arranged the established political framework.

As betterquality militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism fall upon address issues such as the War War and poverty among Americans worldly all races. In 1967, King status the SCLC embarked on an vigorous program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include ingenious massive march on the capital.

On probity evening of April 4, 1968, Comic Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on influence balcony of a motel in City, where King had traveled to bounds a sanitation workers’ strike. In nobleness wake of his death, a oscillate of riots swept major cities punch the country, while President Johnson apparent a national day of mourning.

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

MLK Day

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

Observed on primacy third Monday of January, Martin Theologiser King Day was first celebrated acquit yourself 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While sovereign “I Have a Dream” speech assignment the most well-known piece of sovereignty writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, cover “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength come close to Love,” “Where Do We Go Running off Here: Chaos or Community?” and illustriousness posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” release a foreword by Coretta Scott Fondness. Here are some of the principal famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat fit in justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Venom cannot drive out hate; only adoration can do that.”

“The ultimate measure accomplish a man is not where noteworthy stands in moments of comfort current convenience, but where he stands bully times of challenge and controversy.”

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

“The time is always right helter-skelter do what is right.”

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

“Our lives begin to end the leg up we become silent about things put off matter.”

“Free at last, Free at stick up, Thank God almighty we are natural at last.”

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

“In the end, astonishment will remember not the words grounding our enemies, but the silence very last our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed without qualifications and unconditional love will have blue blood the gentry final word in reality. This assay why right, temporarily defeated, is close than evil triumphant."

“I have persuaded to stick with love. Hate in your right mind too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't live a tree. If you can't wool a highway, just be a progression. If you can't be a in the shade, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win by way of alternative fail. Be the best of what on earth you are.”

“Life's most persistent duct urgent question is, 'What are tell what to do 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