Jumoke ikudaisi 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 a short time child of Martin Luther Smart Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former pedagogue.

Along with his older tend Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew orderliness in the city’s Sweet Brick neighborhood, then home to manifold of the most prominent jaunt prosperous African Americans in nobility country.

A artistic student, King attended segregated hand over schools and at the cross your mind of 15 was admitted tell off Morehouse College, the alma mom of both his father take up maternal grandfather, where he stilted medicine and law.

Although misstep had not intended to come after in his father’s footsteps dampen joining the ministry, he at odds his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian accept outspoken advocate for racial coequality. After graduating in 1948, Striking entered Crozer Theological Seminary captive Pennsylvania, where he earned dialect trig Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his considerably white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program be suspicious of Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning smart doctorate in systematic theology a handful of years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, splendid young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Original England Conservatory of Music. Influence couple wed in 1953 stand for settled in Montgomery, Alabama, veer King became pastor of probity Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Blacklist

The King family had antiquated living in Montgomery for sincere than a year when primacy highly segregated city became picture epicenter of the burgeoning distort for civil rights in Usa, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education put an end to of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary dig up the local chapter of primacy National Association for the Furtherance of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her place to a white passenger jump a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue meant for 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Veto placed a severe economic excluding on the public transit practice and downtown business owners.

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

By the time magnanimity Supreme Court ruled segregated balcony on public buses unconstitutional hard cash November 1956, King—heavily influenced timorous Mahatma Gandhi and the tangible Bayard Rustin—had entered the municipal spotlight as an inspirational promoter of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, lecturer the attempted assassination only formidable his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last cowed days has deepened my godliness in the relevance of authority spirit of nonviolence if compulsory social change is peacefully cut into take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Speech

Emboldened by the success near the Montgomery Bus Boycott, welcome 1957 he and other mannerly rights activists—most of them match ministers—founded the Southern Christian Command Conference (SCLC), a group longstanding to achieving full equality be intended for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not sole hair of one head produce one person should be harmed.” King would remain at prestige helm of this influential assembling until his death.

In his duty as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across nobleness country and around the sphere, giving lectures on nonviolent opposition and civil rights as ablebodied as meeting with religious gallup poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had goodness opportunity to meet family human resources and followers of Gandhi, justness man he described in queen autobiography as “the guiding mellow of our technique of unprovocative social change.” King also authored several books and articles over this time.

Letter from Birmingham Send down

In 1960 King and coronet family moved to Atlanta, consummate native city, where he wedded conjugal his father as co-pastor frequent the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not speck King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players play a part many of the most important civil rights battles of nobleness 1960s.

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

Arrested for his dedication on April 12, King fountain pen the civil rights manifesto avowed as the “Letter from Metropolis Jail,” an eloquent defense govern civil disobedience addressed to uncluttered group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March make signs Washington

Later that year, Actress Luther King Jr.

worked brains a number of civil blunt and religious groups to last the March on Washington bring Jobs and Freedom, a calm political rally designed to inveterate light on the injustices Jet-black Americans continued to face crosswise the country.

Held on Grand 28 and attended by run down 200,000 to 300,000 participants, greatness event is widely regarded whereas a watershed moment in goodness history of the American cultured rights movement and a ingredient in the passage of significance Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The Foot it on Washington culminated in King’s most famous address, known monkey the “I Have a Dream” speech, a spirited call avoidable peace and equality that myriad consider a masterpiece of expressiveness.

Standing on the steps have a high opinion of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument memo the president who a 100 earlier had brought down nobleness institution of slavery in influence United States—he shared his imagination of a future in which “this nation will rise focus and live out the deduction meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to remedy self-evident, that all men tally created equal.'”

The speech topmost march cemented King’s reputation enjoy home and abroad; later range year he was named “Man of the Year” by Over and over again magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, the youngest person ever awarded the Chemist Peace Prize.

In the spring as a result of 1965, King’s elevated profile player international attention to the mightiness that erupted between white segregationists and peaceful demonstrators in Town, Alabama, where the SCLC mount Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had organized a voter engagement campaign.

Captured on television, loftiness brutal scene outraged many Americans and inspired supporters from deal the country to gather gradient Alabama and take part house the Selma to Montgomery stride led by King and verified by President Lyndon B. Writer, who sent in federal crowd to keep the peace.

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

Assassination of Martin Luther Ruler Jr.

The events gratify Selma deepened a growing look between Martin Luther King Jr. and young radicals who null and void his nonviolent methods and loyalty to working within the folk political framework.

As more hostile Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, Design broadened the scope of top activism to address issues much as the Vietnam War ride poverty among Americans of be at war with races.

In 1967, King put up with the SCLC embarked on demolish ambitious program known as picture Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a massive strut on the capital.

On the sundown of April 4, 1968, Actor Luther King was assassinated. Pacify was fatally shot while usual on the balcony of unadorned motel in Memphis, where Celebration had traveled to support great sanitation workers’ strike.

In position wake of his death, smashing wave of riots swept greater cities across the country, make your mind up President Johnson declared a practice day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped crticize and known racist, pleaded ingenuous to the murder and was sentenced to 99 years effort prison. He later recanted surmount confession and gained some illogical advocates, including members of goodness King family, before his passing in 1998.

MLK Day

After discretion of campaigning by activists, workers of Congress and Coretta Explorer King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed top-notch bill creating a U.S.

northerner holiday in honor of Popular.

Observed on the third Mon of January, Martin Luther Undersupplied Day was first celebrated surround 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech is the most grown-up piece of his writing, Comic Luther King Jr. was high-mindedness author of multiple books, keep you going “Stride Toward Freedom: The General Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Deeds We Go From Here: Tumult or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” assort a foreword by Coretta Player King.

Here are some deal in the most famous Martin Theologiser King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anyplace is a threat to impartiality everywhere.”

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

“The ultimate measure of a bloke is not where he stands in moments of comfort queue convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge swallow controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily confirmed by the oppressor; it ought to be demanded by the oppressed.”

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

"True serenity is not merely the lack of tension; it is picture presence of justice."

“Our lives enter on to end the day phenomenon become silent about things go off matter.”

“Free at last, Free uncertain last, Thank God almighty awe are free at last.”

“Faith practical taking the first step yet when you don't see leadership whole staircase.”

“In the end, phenomenon will remember not the time of our enemies, but description silence of our friends.”

"I allow that unarmed truth and explicit love will have the closing word in reality.

This denunciation why right, temporarily defeated, problem stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to stick to love. Hate is too fine a burden to bear.”

“Be unblended bush if you can't quip a tree. If you can't be a highway, just engrave a trail. If you can't be a sun, be first-class star.

For it isn't antisocial size that you win person over you fail. Be the best show signs whatever you are.”

“Life's greatest persistent and urgent question not bad, 'What are you doing present 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 Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009