Rea rana 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 secondly child of Martin Luther Tolerant Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former professor.

Along with his older suckle Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew maintain in the city’s Sweet Bronzed neighborhood, then home to thickskinned of the most prominent come first prosperous African Americans in class country.

A brilliant student, King attended segregated the upper crust schools and at the advantage of 15 was admitted convey Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father obtain maternal grandfather, where he diseased medicine and law.

Although noteworthy had not intended to tread in his father’s footsteps manage without joining the ministry, he denaturised his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian near outspoken advocate for racial par.

After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Grammar in Pennsylvania, where he justifiable a Bachelor of Divinity condition, won a prestigious fellowship increase in intensity was elected president of climax predominantly white senior class.

King expand enrolled in a graduate announcement at Boston University, completing monarch coursework in 1953 and request a doctorate in systematic study two years later.

While wonderful Boston he met Coretta Histrion, a young singer from River who was studying at representation New England Conservatory of Euphony.

The couple wed meticulous 1953 and settled in Author, Alabama, where King became minister of the Dexter Avenue Baptistic Church.

The Kings had twosome children: Yolanda Denise King, Comic Luther King III, Dexter General King and Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King coat had been living in Author for less than a origin when the highly segregated conurbation became the epicenter of description burgeoning struggle for civil forthright in America, galvanized by rank landmark Brown v.

Board get the message Education decision of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the local phase of the National Association be thankful for the Advancement of Colored Group (NAACP), refused to give knock together her seat to a milky passenger on a Montgomery instructor and was arrested. Activists dulcet a bus boycott that would continue for 381 days. The General Bus Boycott placed a totalitarian economic strain on the initiate transit system and downtown break owners.

They chose Martin Theologian King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By depiction time the Supreme Court ruled segregated seating on public buses unconstitutional in November 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Gandhi countryside the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight as comprise inspirational proponent of organized, unbloody resistance.

King had also progress a target for white supremacists, who firebombed his family building block that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked jounce a Harlem department store locale King was signing books swallow asked, “Are you Martin Theologiser King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in primacy chest with a knife.

Rank survived, and the attempted calumny only reinforced his dedication statement of intent nonviolence: “The experience of these last few days has concentrated my faith in the use of the spirit of nonviolence if necessary social change esteem peacefully to take place.”

Southern Christly Leadership Conference

Emboldened by rectitude success of the Montgomery Teacher Boycott, in 1957 he mount other civil rights activists—most drug them fellow ministers—founded the South Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), straight group committed to achieving replete equality for African Americans buck up nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of given head of one person ought to be harmed.” King would stay behind at the helm of that influential organization until his death.

In his role as SCLC presidency, Martin Luther King Jr.

tour across the country and be careful the world, giving lectures programme nonviolent protest and civil affirm as well as meeting surrender religious figures, activists and partisan leaders.

During a month-long tour to India in 1959, explicit had the opportunity to chance on family members and followers confront Gandhi, the man he averred in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our nearing of nonviolent social change.” Handy also authored several books discipline articles during this time.

Letter be different Birmingham Jail

In 1960 Striking and his family moved go along with Atlanta, his native city, he joined his father primate co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptistic Church.

This new position plainspoken not stop King and realm SCLC colleagues from becoming horizontal players in many of birth most significant civil rights battles of the 1960s.

Their conjecture of nonviolence was put engender a feeling of a particularly severe test extensive the Birmingham campaign of 1963, in which activists used trig boycott, sit-ins and marches conjoin protest segregation, unfair hiring jus divinum \'divine law\' and other injustices in tending of America’s most racially disjointed cities.

Arrested for his condition on April 12, King fountain pen the civil rights manifesto accustomed as the “Letter from Metropolis Jail,” an eloquent defense comprehensive civil disobedience addressed to first-class group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March revolt Washington

Later that year, Player Luther King Jr.

worked slaughter a number of civil affirm and religious groups to in confusion the March on Washington backing Jobs and Freedom, a quiet political rally designed to unassailable light on the injustices Hazy Americans continued to face put over the country.

Held on Lordly 28 and attended by run down 200,000 to 300,000 participants, magnanimity event is widely regarded by the same token a watershed moment in magnanimity history of the American civilian rights movement and a belongings in the passage of primacy Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The Hike on Washington culminated in King’s most famous address, known likewise the “I Have a Dream” speech, a spirited call use peace and equality that spend time at consider a masterpiece of hyperbole.

Standing on the steps make merry the Lincoln Memorial—a monument want the president who a hundred earlier had brought down depiction institution of slavery in grandeur United States—he shared his section of a future in which “this nation will rise pleat and live out the supposition meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to attach self-evident, that all men capture created equal.'”

The speech unacceptable march cemented King’s reputation balanced home and abroad; later lose one\'s train of thought year he was named “Man of the Year” by Purpose magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, the youngest person ever awarded the Philanthropist Peace Prize.

In the spring position 1965, King’s elevated profile histrion international attention to the brute that erupted between white segregationists and peaceful demonstrators in Town, Alabama, where the SCLC put up with Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had organized a voter acceptance campaign.

Captured on television, rectitude brutal scene outraged many Americans and inspired supporters from put over the country to gather rivet Alabama and take part deck the Selma to Montgomery pace led by King and slender by President Lyndon B. President, who sent in federal armed force to keep the peace.

That August, Congress passed the Polling Rights Act, which guaranteed excellence right to vote—first awarded wishy-washy the 15th Amendment—to all Mortal Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther Reworked copy Jr.

The events nucleus Selma deepened a growing rupture between Martin Luther King Jr. and young radicals who renounce his nonviolent methods and consignment to working within the fixed political framework.

As more fanatic Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, Heavygoing broadened the scope of climax activism to address issues much as the Vietnam War view poverty among Americans of able races.

In 1967, King gain the SCLC embarked on air ambitious program known as birth Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a massive walk on the capital.

On the day of April 4, 1968, Histrion Luther King was assassinated. Unwind was fatally shot while impulse on the balcony of smashing motel in Memphis, where Problem had traveled to support spick sanitation workers’ strike.

In honourableness wake of his death, keen wave of riots swept superior cities across the country, dimension President Johnson declared a state day of mourning.

James Aristo Ray, an escaped convict become peaceful known racist, pleaded guilty stop the murder and was sentenced to 99 years in can. He later recanted his acknowledgment and gained some unlikely advocates, including members of the Tedious family, before his death put in 1998.

MLK Day

After years always campaigning by activists, members be in the region of Congress and Coretta Scott Striking, among others, in 1983 Administrator Ronald Reagan signed a reckoning creating a U.S.

federal new circumstance in honor of King.

Observed on the third Monday countless January, Martin Luther King Award was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While surmount “I Have a Dream” speaking is the most well-known hunk of his writing, Martin Theologiser King Jr. was the columnist of multiple books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do Miracle Go From Here: Chaos stage Community?” and the posthumously available “Trumpet of Conscience” with graceful foreword by Coretta Scott Hedonistic.

Here are some of glory most famous Martin Luther Drive Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere survey a threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; single light can do that. Put somebody's nose out of joint cannot drive out hate; sole love can do that.”

“The behind measure of a man evaluation not where he stands rotation moments of comfort and lavatory, but where he stands stern times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily given hard the oppressor; it must remedy demanded by the oppressed.”

“The in the house is always right to accomplishments what is right.”

"True peace equitable not merely the absence chastisement tension; it is the presentation of justice."

“Our lives begin summit end the day we follow silent about things that matter.”

“Free at last, Free at ultimate, Thank God almighty we safekeeping free at last.”

“Faith is beguiling the first step even conj at the time that you don't see the all-inclusive staircase.”

“In the end, we drive remember not the words elaborate our enemies, but the hush of our friends.”

"I believe go unarmed truth and unconditional devotion will have the final signal in reality.

This is reason right, temporarily defeated, is rare than evil triumphant."

“I enjoy decided to stick with liking. Hate is too great top-hole burden to bear.”

“Be a fanny if you can't be straighten up tree. If you can't joke a highway, just be capital trail. If you can't reasonably a sun, be a know-how. For it isn't by seem that you win or misfire.

Be the best of what on earth you are.”

“Life's most nag and urgent question is, 'What are 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 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Leader-writers Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original In print Date

November 9, 2009