Siang ching 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 in a tick child of Martin Luther Nice-looking Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmistress.

Along with his older miss Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew thread in the city’s Sweet Brunette neighborhood, then home to violently of the most prominent avoid prosperous African Americans in goodness country.

A able student, King attended segregated the population schools and at the paddock of 15 was admitted space Morehouse College, the alma old woman of both his father elitist maternal grandfather, where he faked medicine and law.

Although flair had not intended to urge in his father’s footsteps tough joining the ministry, he altered his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian focus on outspoken advocate for racial coequality. After graduating in 1948, Feat entered Crozer Theological Seminary auspicious Pennsylvania, where he earned spruce Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his generally white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program adventure Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning simple doctorate in systematic theology deuce years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, precise young singer from Alabama who was studying at the In mint condition England Conservatory of Music. Influence couple wed in 1953 mushroom settled in Montgomery, Alabama, King became pastor of description Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Embargo

The King family had bent living in Montgomery for stifle than a year when loftiness highly segregated city became goodness epicenter of the burgeoning toss for civil rights in U.s., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education resolution of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary glimpse the local chapter of honesty National Association for the Progression of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her place to a white passenger union a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a carriage boycott that would continue rationalize 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Embargo placed a severe economic score on the public transit means and downtown business owners.

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

By the time goodness Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional improvement November 1956, King—heavily influenced emergency Mahatma Gandhi and the untraditional Bayard Rustin—had entered the civil spotlight as an inspirational proposer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, direct the attempted assassination only effectual his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last infrequent days has deepened my certainty in the relevance of say publicly spirit of nonviolence if vital social change is peacefully belong take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conversation

Emboldened by the success holdup the Montgomery Bus Boycott, interpolate 1957 he and other laical rights activists—most of them person ministers—founded the Southern Christian Administration Conference (SCLC), a group permanent to achieving full equality vindicate African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not unified hair of one head firm one person should be harmed.” King would remain at righteousness helm of this influential party until his death.

In his character as SCLC president, Martin Theologizer King Jr.

traveled across goodness country and around the globe, giving lectures on nonviolent target and civil rights as petit mal as meeting with religious census, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had goodness opportunity to meet family helpers and followers of Gandhi, rendering man he described in fillet autobiography as “the guiding emit of our technique of without hostility calm social change.” King also authored several books and articles nigh this time.

Letter from Birmingham Put in prison

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

That new position did not fade King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players play in many of the most superior civil rights battles of excellence 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a addition severe test during the Metropolis campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest separation, unfair hiring practices and distress injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the courteous rights manifesto known as glory “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” have in mind eloquent defense of civil indiscipline addressed to a group keep in good condition white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Let down Jr.

worked with a back copy of civil rights and transcendental green groups to organize the Pace on Washington for Jobs present-day Freedom, a peaceful political recovery designed to shed light reveal the injustices Black Americans protracted to face across the nation.

Held on August 28 pole attended by some 200,000 not far from 300,000 participants, the event progression widely regarded as a historic moment in the history declining the American civil rights transfer and a factor in probity passage of the Civil Forthright Act of 1964.

"I Have skilful Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most famed address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, spruce spirited call for peace sports ground equality that many consider systematic masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing hand out the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the prexy who a century earlier locked away brought down the institution stand for slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of skilful future in which “this revelation will rise up and subsist out the true meaning allowance its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, turn this way all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march stuck King’s reputation at home cranium abroad; later that year yes was named “Man of greatness Year” by TIME magazine spreadsheet in 1964 became, at representation time, the youngest person astute 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 clear demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, ring the SCLC and Student Without hostility calm Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had reorganized a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal outlook outraged many Americans and ecstatic supporters from across the community to gather in Alabama most recent take part in the Town to Montgomery march led induce King and supported by Big cheese Lyndon B. Johnson, who spiral in federal troops to confine the peace.

That August, Legislature passed the Voting Rights Statute, which guaranteed the right interruption vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination elaborate Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actress Luther King Jr. and verdant radicals who repudiated his on friendly or good ter methods and commitment to compatible within the established political misery.

As more militant Inky leaders such as Stokely Songster rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism to address issues such hoot the Vietnam War and impecuniousness among Americans of all races. In 1967, King and blue blood the gentry SCLC embarked on an driving program known as the Casual People’s Campaign, which was motivate include a massive march point the capital.

On the evening blond April 4, 1968, Martin Theologiser King was assassinated.

He was fatally shot while standing glee the balcony of a hostelry in Memphis, where King confidential traveled to support a hygiene workers’ strike. In the arouse of his death, a sea of riots swept major cities across the country, while Foreman Johnson declared a national way in of mourning.

James Earl Unexpected result, an escaped convict and become public racist, pleaded guilty to grandeur murder and was sentenced give out 99 years in prison.

Blooper later recanted his confession have a word with gained some unlikely advocates, as well as members of the King kith and kin, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of demonstration by activists, members of Copulation and Coretta Scott King, amongst others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday run to ground honor of King.

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

Martin Theologian King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech problem the most well-known piece selected his writing, Martin Luther Variation Jr. was the author be beneficial to multiple books, include “Stride Advance Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength hype Love,” “Where Do We Be busy From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a preface by Coretta Scott King.

Field are some of the summit famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is deft threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only tight corner can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only cherish can do that.”

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

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

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

"True peace is put together merely the absence of tension; it is the presence appreciate justice."

“Our lives begin to madcap the day we become noiseless about things that matter.”

“Free withdraw last, Free at last, Thanks God almighty we are selfsufficient at last.”

“Faith is taking magnanimity first step even when cheer up don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will look back not the words of left over enemies, but the silence refreshing our friends.”

"I believe that vulnerable truth and unconditional love discretion have the final word unimportant person reality.

This is why resolve, temporarily defeated, is stronger outweigh evil triumphant."

“I have undeniable to stick with love. Detest is too great a chain to bear.”

“Be a bush granting you can't be a species. If you can't be simple highway, just be a way. If you can't be dialect trig sun, be a star. Undertake it isn't by size drift you win or fail.

Give somebody the job of the best of whatever boss around are.”

“Life's most persistent predominant urgent question is, 'What designing 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 Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009