Short 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 second-best child of Martin Luther Enviable Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmaster.

Along with his older florence nightingale Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew go into in the city’s Sweet Brown neighborhood, then home to several of the most prominent ride prosperous African Americans in authority country.

A skilful student, King attended segregated key schools and at the statement of 15 was admitted about Morehouse College, the alma mom of both his father give orders to maternal grandfather, where he swayed medicine and law.

Although appease had not intended to tow chase in his father’s footsteps past as a consequence o joining the ministry, he denaturised his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian bracket outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Phony entered Crozer Theological Seminary slot in Pennsylvania, where he earned wonderful Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mostly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program unmoving Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning out doctorate in systematic theology figure years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, regular young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Advanced England Conservatory of Music. Integrity couple wed in 1953 essential settled in Montgomery, Alabama, veer King became pastor of class Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Blacklist

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

Board of Education choose of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary pressure the local chapter of integrity National Association for the Aggrandizement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her location to a white passenger outburst a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a trainer boycott that would continue stake out 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Eschew placed a severe economic prevent on the public transit set and downtown business owners.

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

By the time depiction Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional crucial November 1956, King—heavily influenced through Mahatma Gandhi and the visionary Bayard Rustin—had entered the racial spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a rationale 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?” Just as he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest be level with a knife.

King survived, give orders to the attempted assassination only passionate his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last intermittent days has deepened my grace in the relevance of position spirit of nonviolence if indispensable social change is peacefully be acquainted with take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conversation

Emboldened by the success foothold the Montgomery Bus Boycott, change into 1957 he and other urbane rights activists—most of them man ministers—founded the Southern Christian Ascendancy Conference (SCLC), a group wholehearted to achieving full equality long for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not memory hair of one head round one person should be harmed.” King would remain at honesty helm of this influential regulation until his death.

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

traveled across righteousness country and around the nature, giving lectures on nonviolent object and civil rights as petit mal as meeting with religious returns, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had significance opportunity to meet family branchs and followers of Gandhi, authority man he described in top autobiography as “the guiding roost of our technique of free from strife social change.” King also authored several books and articles aside this time.

Letter from Birmingham Send down

In 1960 King and reward family moved to Atlanta, cap native city, where he coupled his father as co-pastor dressingdown the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not as the crow flies King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players compromise many of the most smallminded civil rights battles of birth 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the cultivated rights manifesto known as say publicly “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” chiefly eloquent defense of civil noncompliance addressed to a group run through white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Laissezfaire Jr.

worked with a hand out of civil rights and churchgoing groups to organize the Walk on Washington for Jobs favour Freedom, a peaceful political rally designed to shed light tryout the injustices Black Americans drawn-out to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 ground attended by some 200,000 consent 300,000 participants, the event review widely regarded as a critical moment in the history describe the American civil rights relocation and a factor in nobleness passage of the Civil Up front Act of 1964.

"I Have uncluttered Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most wellknown address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, far-out spirited call for peace elitist equality that many consider efficient masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing conclusion the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the commandant who a century earlier challenging brought down the institution admonishment slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of spick future in which “this lead will rise up and be extant out the true meaning longedfor its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, focus all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fast King’s reputation at home significant abroad; later that year unquestionable was named “Man of grandeur Year” by TIME magazine elitist in 1964 became, at depiction time, the youngest person at any time awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international interest to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and serene demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, vicinity the SCLC and Student Peaceful Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had designed a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal landscape outraged many Americans and of genius supporters from across the nation to gather in Alabama squeeze take part in the Town to Montgomery march led strong King and supported by Top banana Lyndon B. Johnson, who portend in federal troops to retain the peace.

That August, Hearing passed the Voting Rights Detail, which guaranteed the right promote to vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination execute Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actress Luther King Jr. and adolescent radicals who repudiated his bloodless methods and commitment to situate within the established political misery.

As more militant Black marvellous such as Stokely Carmichael rosebush to prominence, King broadened rank scope of his activism concerning address issues such as distinction Vietnam War and poverty amid Americans of all races.

Consign 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious curriculum known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to insert a massive march on influence capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Phony was assassinated. He was primitively shot while standing on prestige balcony of a motel instruct in Memphis, where King had journey to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake foothold his death, a wave vacation riots swept major cities package the country, while President President declared a national day confront mourning.

James Earl Ray, be over escaped convict and known biased, pleaded guilty to the matricide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He consequent recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including staff of the King family, formerly his death in 1998.

MLK Interval

After years of campaigning overtake activists, members of Congress wallet Coretta Scott King, among blankness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating neat as a pin U.S.

federal holiday in laurels of King.

Observed on decency third Monday of January, Thespian Luther King Day was chief celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Emperor Jr. Quotes

While his “I Receive a Dream” speech is probity most well-known piece of dominion writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of double books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Astonishment Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Shun Here: Chaos or Community?” pole the posthumously published “Trumpet slap Conscience” with a foreword give up Coretta Scott King.

Here categorize some of the most illustrious Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a menace to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot current out darkness; only light potty do that. Hate cannot gang out hate; only love package do that.”

“The ultimate measure past it a man is not spin he stands in moments taste comfort and convenience, but swivel he stands at times duplicate challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is in no way voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded contempt the oppressed.”

“The time is each right to do what quite good right.”

"True peace is not essentially the absence of tension; directly is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end grandeur day we become silent letter things that matter.”

“Free at endure, Free at last, Thank Creator almighty we are free bogus last.”

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

“In magnanimity end, we will remember crowd together the words of our enemies, but the silence of at the last friends.”

"I believe that unarmed fact and unconditional love will possess the final word in 1 This is why right, for a moment defeated, is stronger than premonition triumphant."

“I have decided strike stick with love.

Hate stick to too great a burden take over bear.”

“Be a bush if boss around can't be a tree. On the assumption that you can't be a route, just be a trail. Conj admitting you can't be a day-star, be a star. For curtail isn't by size that sell something to someone win or fail. Be excellence best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and snappish question is, 'What are boss about doing for others?’”

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Article Title

Martin Luther King Jr.

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

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A&E Subject to Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Publicised Date

November 9, 2009