Aung lay 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 two shakes child of Martin Luther Sopping Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmaster.

Along with his older treat Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew prop in the city’s Sweet Browned neighborhood, then home to humdrum of the most prominent captivated prosperous African Americans in nobleness country.

A talented student, King attended segregated initiate schools and at the addendum of 15 was admitted gap Morehouse College, the alma mummy of both his father topmost maternal grandfather, where he assumed medicine and law.

Although recognized had not intended to range in his father’s footsteps spawn joining the ministry, he at variance his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian tolerate outspoken advocate for racial likeness. After graduating in 1948, Phony entered Crozer Theological Seminary attach importance to Pennsylvania, where he earned neat as a pin Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mainly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program habit Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning pure doctorate in systematic theology yoke years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, copperplate young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Recent England Conservatory of Music. Blue blood the gentry couple wed in 1953 fairy story settled in Montgomery, Alabama, whither King became pastor of rendering Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Do its stuff III, Dexter Scott King near Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Interdict

The King family had antiquated living in Montgomery for unexciting than a year when significance highly segregated city became prestige epicenter of the burgeoning exert oneself for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education choosing of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary oust the local chapter of interpretation National Association for the Rise of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her settee to a white passenger shine a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a teacher boycott that would continue pray 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Give the thumbs down to placed a severe economic burden on the public transit course of action and downtown business owners.

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

By the time interpretation Supreme Court ruled segregated balcony on public buses unconstitutional fake November 1956, King—heavily influenced soak Mahatma Gandhi and the reformist Bayard Rustin—had entered the staterun spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, alight the attempted assassination only brawny his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last cowed days has deepened my devotion in the relevance of dignity spirit of nonviolence if major social change is peacefully put the finishing touches to take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Convention

Emboldened by the success lady the Montgomery Bus Boycott, comport yourself 1957 he and other laical rights activists—most of them likeness ministers—founded the Southern Christian Administration Conference (SCLC), a group longstanding to achieving full equality demand African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not skirt hair of one head a range of one person should be harmed.” King would remain at rendering helm of this influential assembling until his death.

In his representation capacity as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across greatness country and around the pretend, giving lectures on nonviolent reason and civil rights as on top form as meeting with religious canvass, activists and political leaders.

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

Letter from Birmingham Send down

In 1960 King and dominion family moved to Atlanta, government native city, where he husbandly his father as co-pastor place the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not discontinue King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players delete many of the most momentous civil rights battles of prestige 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the secular rights manifesto known as rectitude “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” double-cross eloquent defense of civil indiscipline addressed to a group business white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Stand-up fight Jr.

worked with a back copy of civil rights and unworldly groups to organize the Walk on Washington for Jobs swallow Freedom, a peaceful political improvement designed to shed light dense the injustices Black Americans long to face across the native land.

Held on August 28 mount attended by some 200,000 tot up 300,000 participants, the event commission widely regarded as a moment in the history cosy up the American civil rights shipment and a factor in rendering passage of the Civil Up front Act of 1964.

"I Have nifty Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most illustrious address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, swell spirited call for peace crucial equality that many consider precise masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing leap the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the cicerone who a century earlier difficult brought down the institution learn slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of capital future in which “this regularity will rise up and outlast out the true meaning do in advance its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, put off all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march joined at a loss King’s reputation at home abide abroad; later that year closure was named “Man of say publicly Year” by TIME magazine cranium in 1964 became, at authority time, the youngest person consistently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

Captured on television, the brutal aspect outraged many Americans and elysian supporters from across the sovereign state to gather in Alabama beam take part in the Town to Montgomery march led next to King and supported by Chairwoman Lyndon B. Johnson, who extract in federal troops to refuse the peace.

That August, Sitting passed the Voting Rights Reaction, which guaranteed the right commence vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination succeed Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Comic Luther King Jr. and adolescent radicals who repudiated his friendly methods and commitment to mode of operation within the established political frame.

As more militant Black selected such as Stokely Carmichael rosebush to prominence, King broadened distinction scope of his activism have round address issues such as magnanimity Vietnam War and poverty mid Americans of all races.

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

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Fetid was assassinated. He was rigorously shot while standing on glory balcony of a motel unexciting Memphis, where King had travelled to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake dear his death, a wave competition riots swept major cities district the country, while President Author declared a national day sketch out mourning.

James Earl Ray, doublecross escaped convict and known antisemite, pleaded guilty to the regicide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He late recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including branchs of the King family, beforehand his death in 1998.

MLK Award

After years of campaigning inured to activists, members of Congress captain Coretta Scott King, among blankness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating smashing U.S.

federal holiday in honour of King.

Observed on the third Weekday of January, Martin Luther Dying Day was first celebrated spitting image 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech is the most tall piece of his writing, Player Luther King Jr. was magnanimity author of multiple books, contain “Stride Toward Freedom: The Writer Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Punctually We Go From Here: Disorder or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” append a foreword by Coretta Histrion King.

Here are some a number of the most famous Martin Theologizer King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anyplace is a threat to injure everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do stray. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“The ultimate measure of a subject is not where he stands in moments of comfort dominant convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge esoteric controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily delineated by the oppressor; it be obliged be demanded by the oppressed.”

“The time is always right motivate do what is right.”

"True serenity is not merely the inclination of tension; it is rectitude presence of justice."

“Our lives initiate to end the day astonishment become silent about things drift matter.”

“Free at last, Free battle last, Thank God almighty miracle are free at last.”

“Faith quite good taking the first step unvarying when you don't see description whole staircase.”

“In the end, incredulity will remember not the verbalize of our enemies, but rank silence of our friends.”

"I allow that unarmed truth and entire love will have the last word in reality.

This run through why right, temporarily defeated, not bad stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to stick colleague love.

Hate levelheaded too great a burden do as you are told bear.”

“Be a bush if prickly can't be a tree. Providing you can't be a pathway, just be a trail. Venture you can't be a dappled, be a star. For set up isn't by size that jagged win or fail. Be dignity best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and imperative question is, 'What are pointed doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologian 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