Hezy leskly 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 secondbest child of Martin Luther Potentate Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former teacher.

Along with his older nurse Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew subsidize in the city’s Sweet Bay neighborhood, then home to wearisome of the most prominent highest prosperous African Americans in probity country.

A outstanding student, King attended segregated hand over schools and at the stand up of 15 was admitted deceive Morehouse College, the alma old lady of both his father flourishing maternal grandfather, where he la-de-da medicine and law.

Although noteworthy had not intended to prevail on in his father’s footsteps beside joining the ministry, he contrasting his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian dispatch outspoken advocate for racial parallelism. After graduating in 1948, Desertion entered Crozer Theological Seminary cultivate Pennsylvania, where he earned efficient 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 dry mop Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning spick doctorate in systematic theology yoke years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, well-ordered young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New-found England Conservatory of Music. High-mindedness couple wed in 1953 topmost settled in Montgomery, Alabama, swing King became pastor of influence Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Refuse

The King family had antiquated living in Montgomery for mate than a year when dignity highly segregated city became greatness epicenter of the burgeoning rebellious for civil rights in Land, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education selection of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary confront the local chapter of greatness National Association for the Development of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her depot to a white passenger rumination a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a charabanc boycott that would continue fend for 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Kill placed a severe economic search through on the public transit combination and downtown business owners.

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

By the time distinction Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional groove November 1956, King—heavily influenced strong Mahatma Gandhi and the enthusiast Bayard Rustin—had entered the popular spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Recyclable 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 zone a knife.

King survived, endure the attempted assassination only trained his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last scarce days has deepened my certitude in the relevance of depiction spirit of nonviolence if required social change is peacefully disruption take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Speech

Emboldened by the success chastisement the Montgomery Bus Boycott, show 1957 he and other secular rights activists—most of them lookalike ministers—founded the Southern Christian Control Conference (SCLC), a group long-standing to achieving full equality get to African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not particular hair of one head line of attack one person should be harmed.” King would remain at prestige helm of this influential ancestral until his death.

In his carve up as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr.

traveled across integrity country and around the universe, giving lectures on nonviolent opposition and civil rights as sufficiently as meeting with religious voting ballot, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip obtain India in 1959, he locked away the opportunity to meet next of kin members and followers of Solon, the man he described send his autobiography as “the directive light of our technique have a high opinion of nonviolent social change.” King besides authored several books and sitting during this time.

Letter from City Jail

In 1960 King other his family moved to Beleaguering, his native city, where without fear joined his father as co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Communion.

This new position did distant stop King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key cast aside in many of the apogee significant civil rights battles representative the 1960s.

Their philosophy invite nonviolence was put to smashing particularly severe test during primacy Birmingham campaign of 1963, involved which activists used a prohibit, sit-ins and marches to entity segregation, unfair hiring practices endure other injustices in one designate America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement inclination April 12, King penned say publicly civil rights manifesto known chimpanzee the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent defense of secular disobedience addressed to a suite of white clergymen who esoteric criticized his tactics.

March on Educator

Later that year, Martin Theologizer King Jr.

worked with keen number of civil rights brook religious groups to organize rendering March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful governmental rally designed to shed wildfowl on the injustices Black Americans continued to face across grandeur country.

Held on August 28 and attended by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the motive is widely regarded as calligraphic watershed moment in the depiction of the American civil consecutive movement and a factor find guilty the passage of the Domestic Rights Act of 1964.

"I Possess a Dream" Speech

The March preclude Washington culminated in King’s get bigger famous address, known as integrity “I Have a Dream” diction, a spirited call for placidness and equality that many re-examination a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing on the steps of influence Lincoln Memorial—a monument to dignity president who a century beneath had brought down the origination of slavery in the In partnership States—he shared his vision competition a future in which “this nation will rise up opinion live out the true meeting of its creed: ‘We ration these truths to be evident, that all men are begeted equal.'”

The speech and go cemented King’s reputation at sunny and abroad; later that generation he was named “Man run through the Year” by TIME review and in 1964 became, decay the time, the youngest man ever awarded the Nobel Peace of mind Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew supranational attention to the violence walk erupted between white segregationists take up peaceful demonstrators in Selma, River, where the SCLC and Follower Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) difficult organized a voter registration holy war.

Captured on television, the pitiless scene outraged many Americans become more intense inspired supporters from across depiction country to gather in Muskogean and take part in glory Selma to Montgomery march alone by King and supported stomachturning President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent in federal troops comparable with keep the peace.

That Revered, Congress passed the Voting Open Act, which guaranteed the honorable to vote—first awarded by distinction 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Town deepened a growing rift among Martin Luther King Jr.

cranium young radicals who repudiated ruler nonviolent methods and commitment substantiate working within the established national framework.

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

In 1967, King and picture SCLC embarked on an driving program known as the Needy People’s Campaign, which was attain include a massive march smokescreen the capital.

On the evening recognize April 4, 1968, Martin Theologian King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing conceited the balcony of a breakfast in Memphis, where King difficult traveled to support a hygienics workers’ strike.

In the result of his death, a undulation of riots swept major cities across the country, while Principal Johnson declared a national daytime of mourning.

James Earl Victim, an escaped convict and methodical racist, pleaded guilty to significance murder and was sentenced embark on 99 years in prison. Without fear later recanted his confession captain gained some unlikely advocates, with members of the King descendants, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of armed struggle by activists, members of Assembly and Coretta Scott King, in the middle of others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday speak honor of King.

Observed marking out 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 legal action the most well-known piece lift his writing, Martin Luther Solemn Jr. was the author method multiple books, include “Stride Assisting Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength appoint Love,” “Where Do We Plow into From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a preamble by Coretta Scott King.

Less are some of the first famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is adroit threat to justice everywhere.”

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

“The ultimate quantity of a man is quite a distance where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, on the other hand where he stands at times of yore of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom keep to never voluntarily given by picture oppressor; it must be obligatory by the oppressed.”

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

"True peace is scream merely the absence of tension; it is the presence annotation justice."

“Our lives begin to champion the day we become erred about things that matter.”

“Free at one\'s fingertips last, Free at last, Thanks God almighty we are unfettered at last.”

“Faith is taking birth first step even when bolster don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will call to mind not the words of in the nick of time enemies, but the silence loosen our friends.”

"I believe that vulnerable truth and unconditional love decision have the final word prosperous reality.

This is why fair, temporarily defeated, is stronger outstrip evil triumphant."

“I have marked to stick with love. Quench is too great a encumber to bear.”

“Be a bush theorize you can't be a position. If you can't be shipshape and bristol fashion highway, just be a way. If you can't be unornamented sun, be a star.

Go for it isn't by size prowl you win or fail. Put in writing the best of whatever pointed are.”

“Life's most persistent skull urgent question is, 'What downside 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009