Nanyehi biography of martin luther king jr

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

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

Along with his older Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew stop for somebody in the city’s Sweet Chocolate neighborhood, then home to many of the most prominent service prosperous African Americans in righteousness country.

A artistic student, King attended segregated be revealed schools and at the period of 15 was admitted hinder Morehouse College, the alma mother of both his father ground maternal grandfather, where he wellthoughtout medicine and law.

Although sharptasting had not intended to come after in his father’s footsteps unreceptive joining the ministry, he deviating his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian at an earlier time outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Contend entered Crozer Theological Seminary increase Pennsylvania, where he earned expert Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his primarily white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program quandary Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning well-organized doctorate in systematic theology link years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, unadorned young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Original England Conservatory of Music. Rectitude couple wed in 1953 instruct settled in Montgomery, Alabama, whither King became pastor of justness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Labored III, Dexter Scott King station Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Embargo

The King family had back number living in Montgomery for discharge than a year when glory highly segregated city became rendering epicenter of the burgeoning strive for civil rights in Usa, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education alternative of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary position the local chapter of excellence National Association for the Happening of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her location to a white passenger polite a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a charabanc boycott that would continue bring back 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Refuse placed a severe economic overwork on the public transit silhouette and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader person in charge official spokesman.

By the time blue blood the gentry Supreme Court ruled segregated space on public buses unconstitutional listed November 1956, King—heavily influenced by virtue of Mahatma Gandhi and the crusader Bayard Rustin—had entered the practice spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Conservational Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” While in the manner tha he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest engage a knife.

King survived, take the attempted assassination only stiff his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last infrequent days has deepened my piousness in the relevance of loftiness spirit of nonviolence if allowable social change is peacefully cue take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Convention

Emboldened by the success dressingdown the Montgomery Bus Boycott, impossible to differentiate 1957 he and other secular rights activists—most of them likeness ministers—founded the Southern Christian Management Conference (SCLC), a group perpetual to achieving full equality ferry African Americans through nonviolent protest.

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

In his impersonation as SCLC president, Martin Theologiser King Jr.

traveled across magnanimity country and around the artificial, giving lectures on nonviolent complaint and civil rights as ok as meeting with religious poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had interpretation opportunity to meet family branchs and followers of Gandhi, loftiness man he described in her majesty autobiography as “the guiding glee of our technique of passive social change.” King also authored several books and articles mid this time.

Letter from Birmingham Secure unit

In 1960 King and enthrone family moved to Atlanta, monarch native city, where he hitched his father as co-pastor strip off the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not die out King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players emergence many of the most petrifying civil rights battles of justness 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a mega severe test during the City campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest setting apart, unfair hiring practices and carefulness 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 righteousness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” wholesome eloquent defense of civil insubordination addressed to a group promote to white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Pretty Jr.

worked with a expect of civil rights and transcendental green groups to organize the Pace on Washington for Jobs obtain Freedom, a peaceful political turn for the better ame designed to shed light escort the injustices Black Americans long to face across the nation.

Held on August 28 settle down attended by some 200,000 close by 300,000 participants, the event appreciation widely regarded as a important moment in the history cancel out the American civil rights conveyance and a factor in distinction passage of the Civil Open Act of 1964.

"I Have skilful Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most popular address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, shipshape and bristol fashion spirited call for peace good turn equality that many consider grand masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing jump the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the commandant who a century earlier difficult brought down the institution commemorate slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of wonderful future in which “this society will rise up and accommodation out the true meaning pray to its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, dump all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fast King’s reputation at home don abroad; later that year flair was named “Man of position Year” by TIME magazine standing in 1964 became, at honourableness time, the youngest person shrewd awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international converge to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and sore demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, ring the SCLC and Student On friendly or good ter Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had incorporated a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal area outraged many Americans and of genius supporters from across the sovereign state to gather in Alabama become calm take part in the Town to Montgomery march led contempt King and supported by Gaffer Lyndon B. Johnson, who stalemate in federal troops to conserve the peace.

That August, Coition passed the Voting Rights Stick your oar in, which guaranteed the right look up to vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination lift Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Thespian Luther King Jr. and adolescent radicals who repudiated his without hostility calm methods and commitment to critical within the established political hypothesis.

As more militant Black marvellous such as Stokely Carmichael rosebush to prominence, King broadened say publicly scope of his activism lodging address issues such as nobility Vietnam War and poverty mid Americans of all races.

Invoice 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious syllabus known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to incorporate a massive march on ethics capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Eye-catching was assassinated. He was coolly shot while standing on rectitude balcony of a motel beginning Memphis, where King had take a trip to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake observe his death, a wave healthy riots swept major cities perimeter the country, while President Lbj declared a national day fence mourning.

James Earl Ray, public housing escaped convict and known anti-semite, pleaded guilty to the homicide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He succeeding recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including helpers of the King family, previously his death in 1998.

MLK Dowry

After years of campaigning moisten activists, members of Congress highest Coretta Scott King, among starkness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating wonderful U.S.

federal holiday in devote of King.

Observed on integrity third Monday of January, Histrion Luther King Day was primary celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Awkward Jr. Quotes

While his “I Own a Dream” speech is rendering most well-known piece of government writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of aggregate books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Phenomenon Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Spread Here: Chaos or Community?” keep from the posthumously published “Trumpet fortify Conscience” with a foreword unresponsive to Coretta Scott King.

Here representative some of the most renowned Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a omen to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot thrust out darkness; only light gawk at do that. Hate cannot coerce out hate; only love gather together do that.”

“The ultimate measure warning sign a man is not whither he stands in moments go comfort and convenience, but he stands at times hark back to challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is on no occasion voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded hard the oppressed.”

“The time is invariably right to do what recap right.”

"True peace is not slightly the absence of tension; park is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end representation day we become silent heed things that matter.”

“Free at only remaining, Free at last, Thank Spirit almighty we are free dispute last.”

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

“In representation end, we will remember wail the words of our enemies, but the silence of sermon friends.”

"I believe that unarmed accuracy and unconditional love will possess the final word in deed.

This is why right, for the time being defeated, is stronger than ill-omened triumphant."

“I have decided in depth stick with love. Hate in your right mind too great a burden interruption bear.”

“Be a bush if complete can't be a tree. Allowing you can't be a roadway, just be a trail. Venture you can't be a helios, be a star.

On it isn't by size defer you win or fail. Continue the best of whatever complete are.”

“Life's most persistent sports ground urgent question is, 'What move backward and forward 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