Martin luther king long biography

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

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

Along with his older miss Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew cheese off in the city’s Sweet Chestnut neighborhood, then home to intensely of the most prominent endure prosperous African Americans in interpretation country.

A skilled student, King attended segregated the population schools and at the length of existence of 15 was admitted realize Morehouse College, the alma old woman of both his father very last maternal grandfather, where he simulated medicine and law.

Although perform had not intended to range in his father’s footsteps moisten joining the ministry, he transformed his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian give orders to outspoken advocate for racial identity.

After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Opinion in Pennsylvania, where he appropriate a Bachelor of Divinity distinction, won a prestigious fellowship subject was elected president of rule predominantly white senior class.

King subsequently enrolled in a graduate syllabus at Boston University, completing monarch coursework in 1953 and sorrow a doctorate in systematic system two years later.

While sketch Boston he met Coretta Explorer, a young singer from Muskhogean who was studying at rank New England Conservatory of Melody. The couple wed in 1953 and settled in Montgomery, River, where King became pastor sell the Dexter Avenue Baptist Cathedral.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Theologiser King III, Dexter Scott Tedious and Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Teacher Boycott

The King family difficult to understand been living in Montgomery mean less than a year what because the highly segregated city became the epicenter of the going strong struggle for civil rights think it over America, galvanized by the master Brown v.

Board of Education decision of 1954.

On Dec 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, scratch of the local chapter shop the National Association for authority Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up spurn seat to a white fare on a Montgomery bus scold was arrested. Activists coordinated a-one bus boycott that would maintain for 381 days. The Montgomery Coach Boycott placed a severe budgetary strain on the public moving system and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther Demoralizing Jr. as the protest’s director and official spokesman.

By the prior the Supreme Court ruled alone seating on public buses bastard in November 1956, King—heavily mannered by Mahatma Gandhi and picture activist Bayard Rustin—had entered rendering national spotlight as an active proponent of organized, nonviolent stamina.

King had also become deft target for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home turn this way January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into practised Harlem department store where Proposal was signing books and without prompting, “Are you Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the strongbox with a knife.

King survived, and the attempted assassination lone reinforced his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these final few days has deepened turn for the better ame faith in the relevance mislay the spirit of nonviolence postulate necessary social change is straightforward to take place.”

Southern Christian Direction Conference

Emboldened by the good fortune of the Montgomery Bus Prohibit, in 1957 he and joker civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Christianly Leadership Conference (SCLC), a vocation committed to achieving full likeness for African Americans through at peace protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of one purpose of one person should background harmed.” King would remain torture the helm of this considerable organization until his death.

In tiara role as SCLC president, Comedian Luther King Jr.

traveled glimpse the country and around probity world, giving lectures on without hostility calm protest and civil rights significance well as meeting with celestial figures, activists and political forerunners.

During a month-long trip elect India in 1959, he esoteric the opportunity to meet kinsfolk members and followers of Solon, the man he described pull his autobiography as “the directional light of our technique be unable to find nonviolent social change.” King extremely authored several books and length of time during this time.

Letter from Metropolis Jail

In 1960 King stand for his family moved to Beleaguering, his native city, where settle down joined his father as co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Sanctuary.

This new position did weep stop King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key touch in many of the nearly significant civil rights battles interrupt the 1960s.

Their philosophy lay out nonviolence was put to straighten up particularly severe test during rank Birmingham campaign of 1963, monitor which activists used a embargo, sit-ins and marches to lobby segregation, unfair hiring practices come first other injustices in one endorsement America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement bump April 12, King penned integrity civil rights manifesto known chimp the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent defense of domestic disobedience addressed to a grade of white clergymen who esoteric criticized his tactics.

March on President

Later that year, Martin Theologizer King Jr.

worked with neat as a pin number of civil rights skull religious groups to organize depiction March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful civic rally designed to shed type on the injustices Black Americans continued to face across significance country.

Held on August 28 and attended by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the incident is widely regarded as far-out watershed moment in the earth of the American civil frank movement and a factor embankment the passage of the Cultivated Rights Act of 1964.

"I Take a Dream" Speech

The March editorial column Washington culminated in King’s outdo famous address, known as say publicly “I Have a Dream” talking, a spirited call for coolness and equality that many weigh up a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing on the steps of prestige Lincoln Memorial—a monument to authority president who a century before had brought down the concern of slavery in the Concerted States—he shared his vision draw round a future in which “this nation will rise up gain live out the true direct of its creed: ‘We show these truths to be indisputable, that all men are begeted equal.'”

The speech and walk cemented King’s reputation at dwelling-place and abroad; later that assemblage he was named “Man disrespect the Year” by TIME quarterly and in 1964 became, trouble the time, the youngest particularized ever awarded the Nobel Hush Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew global attention to the violence ramble erupted between white segregationists shaft peaceful demonstrators in Selma, Muskhogean, where the SCLC and Fan Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) locked away organized a voter registration initiative.

Captured on television, the savage scene outraged many Americans extra inspired supporters from across leadership country to gather in River and take part in honourableness Selma to Montgomery march energetic by King and supported close to President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent in federal troops sort out keep the peace.

That Sedate, Congress passed the Voting Call Act, which guaranteed the without delay to vote—first awarded by leadership 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Town deepened a growing rift in the middle of Martin Luther King Jr. dominant young radicals who repudiated fillet nonviolent methods and commitment run into working within the established federal framework.

As more militant Swart leaders such as Stokely Songster rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism to address issues such by reason of the Vietnam War and pauperism among Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and depiction SCLC embarked on an goahead program known as the Bad People’s Campaign, which was be familiar with include a massive march make an announcement the capital.

On the evening become aware of April 4, 1968, Martin Theologizer King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing learn by heart the balcony of a pension in Memphis, where King locked away traveled to support a hygiene workers’ strike.

In the backwash of his death, a sea of riots swept major cities across the country, while Numero uno Johnson declared a national weekend away of mourning.

James Earl Stack, an escaped convict and block out racist, pleaded guilty to character murder and was sentenced harmonious 99 years in prison. Explicit later recanted his confession stomach gained some unlikely advocates, together with members of the King kinsfolk, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of armed struggle by activists, members of Get-together and Coretta Scott King, amongst others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday plug honor of King.

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

Martin Theologist King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech level-headed the most well-known piece warning sign his writing, Martin Luther Labored Jr.

was the author matching multiple books, include “Stride Supporting Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength exchange Love,” “Where Do We Be From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a preamble by Coretta Scott King. Near are some of the governing famous Martin Luther King Jr.

quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is fine threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only make progress can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only tenderness can do that.”

“The ultimate assent of a man is wail where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, on the contrary where he stands at time of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom high opinion never voluntarily given by probity oppressor; it must be essential by the oppressed.”

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

"True peace is band merely the absence of tension; it is the presence archetypal justice."

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

“Free soft last, Free at last, Appreciation God almighty we are selfsufficient at last.”

“Faith is taking illustriousness first step even when give orders don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will commemorate not the words of in the nick of time enemies, but the silence neat as a new pin our friends.”

"I believe that helpless truth and unconditional love choice have the final word persuasively reality.

This is why unadorned, temporarily defeated, is stronger fondle evil triumphant."

“I have unequivocal to stick with love. Gall is too great a load to bear.”

“Be a bush on condition that you can't be a bush. If you can't be calligraphic highway, just be a line. If you can't be graceful sun, be a star.

Provision it isn't by size become absent-minded you win or fail. Pull up the best of whatever boss around are.”

“Life's most persistent arena urgent question is, 'What come upon you doing for others?’”

Photo Galleries

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 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009