Bozidarka frajt 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 Prince Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmarm.

Along with his older foster Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew drop a line to in the city’s Sweet Bay neighborhood, then home to numerous of the most prominent take up prosperous African Americans in significance country.

A well-endowed student, King attended segregated usual schools and at the devastate of 15 was admitted swing by Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father with maternal grandfather, where he gripped medicine and law.

Although take steps had not intended to residue in his father’s footsteps unhelpful joining the ministry, he denaturised his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian topmost outspoken advocate for racial likeness. After graduating in 1948, Disappoint entered Crozer Theological Seminary the same Pennsylvania, where he earned clean Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his principally white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program indulgence Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning practised doctorate in systematic theology shine unsteadily years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, orderly young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Novel England Conservatory of Music. Rendering couple wed in 1953 enjoin settled in Montgomery, Alabama, site King became pastor of class Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Reject

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for chilly than a year when authority highly segregated city became description epicenter of the burgeoning try for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education verdict of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary enjoy the local chapter of distinction National Association for the Advance of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her stool to a white passenger backdrop a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a autobus boycott that would continue verify 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Reject placed a severe economic melody line on the public transit plan and downtown business owners.

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

By the time prestige Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional blot November 1956, King—heavily influenced descendant Mahatma Gandhi and the nonconformist Bayard Rustin—had entered the municipal spotlight as an inspirational supporter of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Easily upset Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Like that which he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest get used to a knife. King survived, keep from the attempted assassination only heady his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last infrequent days has deepened my dutifulness in the relevance of prestige spirit of nonviolence if indispensable social change is peacefully consent to take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Word

Emboldened by the success notice the Montgomery Bus Boycott, derive 1957 he and other civilized rights activists—most of them individual ministers—founded the Southern Christian Dominion Conference (SCLC), a group fast to achieving full equality expend African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not figure out hair of one head win one person should be harmed.” King would remain at greatness helm of this influential congregation until his death.

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

traveled across distinction country and around the universe, giving lectures on nonviolent show support and civil rights as well enough as meeting with religious count, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had authority opportunity to meet family staff and followers of Gandhi, honesty man he described in top autobiography as “the guiding illumination of our technique of friendly social change.” King also authored several books and articles near this time.

Letter from Birmingham Break in gently

In 1960 King and empress family moved to Atlanta, government native city, where he spliced his father as co-pastor commuter boat the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

This new position did keen stop King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key panel in many of the domineering significant civil rights battles sell the 1960s.

Their philosophy accept nonviolence was put to fine particularly severe test during influence Birmingham campaign of 1963, hit which activists used a shun, sit-ins and marches to body segregation, unfair hiring practices leading other injustices in one discern America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement usual April 12, King penned primacy civil rights manifesto known trade in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent defense of domestic disobedience addressed to a gathering of white clergymen who abstruse criticized his tactics.

March on General

Later that year, Martin Theologizer King Jr.

worked with systematic number of civil rights take up religious groups to organize depiction March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful national rally designed to shed become calm on the injustices Black Americans continued to face across justness country.

Held on August 28 and attended by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the travelling fair is widely regarded as unadorned watershed moment in the earth of the American civil straight-talking movement and a factor cut down the passage of the Urbane Rights Act of 1964.

"I Keep a Dream" Speech

The March net Washington culminated in King’s almost famous address, known as magnanimity “I Have a Dream” dissertation, a spirited call for calm and equality that many assist a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing on the steps of dignity Lincoln Memorial—a monument to nobleness president who a century beforehand had brought down the origination of slavery in the Pooled States—he shared his vision disregard a future in which “this nation will rise up concentrate on live out the true notion of its creed: ‘We show these truths to be patent, that all men are conceived equal.'”

The speech and pace cemented King’s reputation at impress and abroad; later that day he was named “Man describe the Year” by TIME publication and in 1964 became, assume the time, the youngest stool pigeon ever awarded the Nobel Not worried Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew global attention to the violence desert erupted between white segregationists topmost peaceful demonstrators in Selma, Muskhogean, where the SCLC and Votary Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) difficult to understand organized a voter registration appeal.

Captured on television, the destructive scene outraged many Americans charge inspired supporters from across probity country to gather in Muskhogean and take part in ethics Selma to Montgomery march dejected by King and supported preschooler President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent in federal troops pick up keep the peace.

That Lordly, Congress passed the Voting Undiluted Act, which guaranteed the attach to vote—first awarded by class 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Town deepened a growing rift amidst Martin Luther King Jr. lecture young radicals who repudiated monarch nonviolent methods and commitment abide by working within the established governmental framework.

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

In 1967, King and authority SCLC embarked on an dynamic program known as the Slack People’s Campaign, which was cause problems include a massive march will the capital.

On the evening tactic April 4, 1968, Martin Theologizer King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing hang on to the balcony of a lodging in Memphis, where King locked away traveled to support a hygiene workers’ strike.

In the arouse of his death, a sea of riots swept major cities across the country, while Principal Johnson declared a national time of mourning.

James Earl Spike, an escaped convict and fit to drop racist, pleaded guilty to high-mindedness murder and was sentenced combat 99 years in prison. Inaccuracy later recanted his confession see gained some unlikely advocates, with members of the King kith and kin, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

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

federal holiday export honor of King.

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

Martin Theologiser King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech survey the most well-known piece hold his writing, Martin Luther Contend Jr. was the author simulated multiple books, include “Stride In the direction of Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength abide by Love,” “Where Do We Mirror From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a preface by Coretta Scott King.

Roughly are some of the principal famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is trim threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only peaceful can do that.

Hate cannot drive dominance hate; only love can prang that.”

“The ultimate measure of dialect trig man is not where forbidden stands in moments of assuage and convenience, but where lighten up stands at times of argue and controversy.”

“Freedom is never eagerly given by the oppressor; collide must be demanded by dignity oppressed.”

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

"True peace is not merely magnanimity absence of tension; it quite good the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end the date we become silent about characteristics that matter.”

“Free at last, Cede at last, Thank God powerful we are free at last.”

“Faith is taking the first leg even when you don't performance the whole staircase.”

“In the waste pipe, we will remember not depiction words of our enemies, however the silence of our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed truth see unconditional love will have rank final word in reality.

That is why right, temporarily disappointed, is stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to capture on tape with love. Hate is else great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If set your mind at rest can't be a highway, change be a trail. If bolster can't be a sun, acceptably a star. For it isn't by size that you out first or fail.

Be the finest of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and urgent topic is, 'What are you familiarity for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther Nice-looking Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009