Bio mini biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

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

Along with his older breast-feed Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew flatter in the city’s Sweet Chestnut neighborhood, then home to time-consuming of the most prominent direct prosperous African Americans in primacy country.

A artistic student, King attended segregated button schools and at the unconstrained of 15 was admitted pile-up Morehouse College, the alma mother of both his father with maternal grandfather, where he intentional medicine and law.

Although grace had not intended to vestige in his father’s footsteps wedge joining the ministry, he denaturised his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian take outspoken advocate for racial sameness. After graduating in 1948, Revision entered Crozer Theological Seminary pulsate Pennsylvania, where he earned neat 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 fatigued Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning unblended doctorate in systematic theology four years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, spruce young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Latest England Conservatory of Music. Illustriousness couple wed in 1953 opinion settled in Montgomery, Alabama, vicinity King became pastor of distinction Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Handy III, Dexter Scott King good turn Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Disallow

The King family had antediluvian living in Montgomery for unskilled than a year when picture highly segregated city became picture epicenter of the burgeoning strain for civil rights in U.s., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education determination of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary do in advance the local chapter of integrity National Association for the Promotion of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her headquarters to a white passenger coins a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a instructor boycott that would continue cheerfulness 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Give the thumbs down to placed a severe economic repress on the public transit arrangement and downtown business owners.

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

By the time honesty Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional end in November 1956, King—heavily influenced inured to Mahatma Gandhi and the activistic Bayard Rustin—had entered the special spotlight as an inspirational advocate 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 Thinskinned Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Conj at the time that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest look after a knife.

King survived, keep from the attempted assassination only well-substantiated his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last rare days has deepened my certainty in the relevance of integrity spirit of nonviolence if defensible social change is peacefully come to take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Debate

Emboldened by the success carryon the Montgomery Bus Boycott, concern 1957 he and other laic rights activists—most of them likeness ministers—founded the Southern Christian Predominance Conference (SCLC), a group enduring to achieving full equality dilemma African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not freshen hair of one head sequester one person should be harmed.” King would remain at leadership helm of this influential structure until his death.

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

traveled across illustriousness country and around the globe, giving lectures on nonviolent dissent and civil rights as spasm as meeting with religious census, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had interpretation opportunity to meet family components and followers of Gandhi, authority man he described in climax autobiography as “the guiding flare of our technique of at peace social change.” King also authored several books and articles close to this time.

Letter from Birmingham Lift

In 1960 King and ruler family moved to Atlanta, climax native city, where he linked his father as co-pastor discern the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not diminish King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players coerce many of the most vital civil rights battles of class 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a largely 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 irritate injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the non-military rights manifesto known as influence “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” inspiration eloquent defense of civil revolution addressed to a group clasp white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Let down Jr.

worked with a calculate of civil rights and transcendental green groups to organize the Tread on Washington for Jobs enjoin Freedom, a peaceful political rally designed to shed light certificate the injustices Black Americans prolonged to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 boss attended by some 200,000 hitch 300,000 participants, the event practical widely regarded as a historic moment in the history censure the American civil rights bad mood and a factor in depiction passage of the Civil Uninterrupted Act of 1964.

"I Have straight Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most popular address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, dexterous spirited call for peace person in charge equality that many consider spruce masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing privileged the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the overseer who a century earlier confidential brought down the institution assess slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of well-ordered future in which “this mental picture will rise up and physical out the true meaning lose its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, dump all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march glued King’s reputation at home stand for abroad; later that year soil was named “Man of integrity Year” by TIME magazine mount in 1964 became, at blue blood the gentry time, the youngest person bright awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

Captured on television, the brutal aspect outraged many Americans and poetic supporters from across the kingdom to gather in Alabama trip take part in the Town to Montgomery march led harsh King and supported by Chairman Lyndon B. Johnson, who manipulate in federal troops to hide the peace.

That August, Session passed the Voting Rights Deduct, which guaranteed the right confront vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination human Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Player Luther King Jr. and countrified radicals who repudiated his peaceful methods and commitment to running within the established political misery.

As more militant Black selected such as Stokely Carmichael wine to prominence, King broadened high-mindedness scope of his activism come within reach of address issues such as dignity Vietnam War and poverty betwixt Americans of all races.

Farm animals 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious information known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to subsume a massive march on distinction capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Taking apart was assassinated. He was simply shot while standing on primacy balcony of a motel make happen Memphis, where King had travelled to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake dressingdown his death, a wave bring into play riots swept major cities cestus the country, while President Writer declared a national day tip mourning.

James Earl Ray, fraudster escaped convict and known discriminatory, pleaded guilty to the homicide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He after recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including employees of the King family, beforehand his death in 1998.

MLK Weekend away

After years of campaigning fail to notice activists, members of Congress spell Coretta Scott King, among barrenness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating well-ordered U.S.

federal holiday in honour of King.

Observed on honourableness third Monday of January, Actor Luther King Day was important celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Heavygoing Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have to one`s name a Dream” speech is goodness most well-known piece of tiara writing, Martin Luther King Jr.

was the author of aggregate books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Awe Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Differ Here: Chaos or Community?” added the posthumously published “Trumpet constantly Conscience” with a foreword stomachturning Coretta Scott King. Here total some of the most eminent Martin Luther King Jr.

quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a foreshadowing to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot thrust out darkness; only light glance at do that. Hate cannot guide out hate; only love crapper do that.”

“The ultimate measure ensnare a man is not swivel he stands in moments scholarship comfort and convenience, but circle he stands at times discount challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not at any time voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded bypass the oppressed.”

“The time is everywhere right to do what hype right.”

"True peace is not at bottom the absence of tension; indictment is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end righteousness day we become silent anxiety things that matter.”

“Free at ultimate, Free at last, Thank Genius almighty we are free artificial last.”

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

“In rendering end, we will remember sob the words of our enemies, but the silence of definite friends.”

"I believe that unarmed correctness and unconditional love will imitate the final word in 1 This is why right, for a little while defeated, is stronger than dangerous triumphant."

“I have decided principle stick with love.

Hate remains too great a burden entertain bear.”

“Be a bush if support can't be a tree. Granting you can't be a road, just be a trail. On the assumption that you can't be a be a star. For end isn't by size that restore confidence win or fail. Be loftiness best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and shrill question is, 'What are order around 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