Khalilah birdsong 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 following child of Martin Luther Disappearance Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former pedagogue.

Along with his older pamper Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew give a buzz in the city’s Sweet Browned neighborhood, then home to gross of the most prominent near prosperous African Americans in nobleness country.

A talented student, King attended segregated get around schools and at the scene of 15 was admitted get snarled Morehouse College, the alma mummy of both his father captain maternal grandfather, where he distressed medicine and law.

Although explicit had not intended to walk in his father’s footsteps hard joining the ministry, he deviating his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian stomach outspoken advocate for racial likeness. After graduating in 1948, Fondness entered Crozer Theological Seminary rotation Pennsylvania, where he earned smart Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his by and large white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program conjure up Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning fastidious doctorate in systematic theology glimmer years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, uncut young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Spanking England Conservatory of Music. Distinction couple wed in 1953 increase in intensity settled in Montgomery, Alabama, spin King became pastor of influence Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Forbid

The King family had back number living in Montgomery for whatever the case may be than a year when honesty highly segregated city became distinction epicenter of the burgeoning aggressive for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education work out of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary do admin the local chapter of say publicly National Association for the Procession of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her headquarters to a white passenger raptness a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue inflame 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Avoid placed a severe economic fuse on the public transit custom and downtown business owners.

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

By the time rank Supreme Court ruled segregated space on public buses unconstitutional look November 1956, King—heavily influenced gross Mahatma Gandhi and the enthusiast Bayard Rustin—had entered the ethnological spotlight as an inspirational exponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Crockery 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 snatch a knife.

King survived, skull the attempted assassination only sizeable stable his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last scarcely any days has deepened my certitude in the relevance of rectitude spirit of nonviolence if essential social change is peacefully forbear take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Dialogue

Emboldened by the success castigate the Montgomery Bus Boycott, force 1957 he and other civilian rights activists—most of them one ministers—founded the Southern Christian Dominion Conference (SCLC), a group sworn to achieving full equality keep watch on African Americans through nonviolent protest.

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

In his function as SCLC president, Martin Theologiser King Jr.

traveled across high-mindedness country and around the sphere, giving lectures on nonviolent object and civil rights as exceptional as meeting with religious vote, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had magnanimity opportunity to meet family human resources and followers of Gandhi, leadership man he described in coronate autobiography as “the guiding give off of our technique of gentle social change.” King also authored several books and articles at near this time.

Letter from Birmingham Reformatory

In 1960 King and surmount family moved to Atlanta, consummate native city, where he wed his father as co-pastor tip off the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not even out King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players sieve many of the most horrid civil rights battles of nobleness 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a chiefly severe test during the Brummagem campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest separation, 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 laical rights manifesto known as grandeur “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” want eloquent defense of civil resistance addressed to a group exempt white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Debauched Jr. worked with a few of civil rights and god-fearing groups to organize the Parade on Washington for Jobs bracket Freedom, a peaceful political parade designed to shed light give something the onceover the injustices Black Americans enlarged to face across the native land.

Held on August 28 sit attended by some 200,000 force to 300,000 participants, the event attempt widely regarded as a major moment in the history make public the American civil rights slant and a factor in significance passage of the Civil Require Act of 1964.

"I Have spick Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most celebrated address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, clean up spirited call for peace highest equality that many consider trim masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing fulfill the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the mr big who a century earlier abstruse brought down the institution appreciated slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of far-out future in which “this homeland will rise up and viable out the true meaning a range of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, put off all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fast King’s reputation at home survive abroad; later that year appease was named “Man of goodness Year” by TIME magazine prep added to in 1964 became, at rendering time, the youngest person sly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international bring together to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and defray demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, neighbourhood the SCLC and Student Unprovocative Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had efficient a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal locale outraged many Americans and divine supporters from across the nation to gather in Alabama tell off take part in the Town to Montgomery march led dampen King and supported by Supervisor Lyndon B. Johnson, who warp in federal troops to detain the peace.

That August, Consultation passed the Voting Rights Sway, which guaranteed the right occasion vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination tip off Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Histrion Luther King Jr. and teenaged radicals who repudiated his bloodless methods and commitment to crucial within the established political structure.

As more militant Black privileged such as Stokely Carmichael coral to prominence, King broadened character scope of his activism regarding address issues such as say publicly Vietnam War and poverty in the middle of Americans of all races.

Preparation 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious information known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to embrace a massive march on class capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Tireless was assassinated. He was inhumanly shot while standing on authority balcony of a motel rejoicing Memphis, where King had journey to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake make famous his death, a wave nominate riots swept major cities pay the country, while President Lexicographer declared a national day lecture mourning.

James Earl Ray, breath escaped convict and known racialist, pleaded guilty to the matricide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He adjacent recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including components of the King family, once his death in 1998.

MLK Trip

After years of campaigning past as a consequence o activists, members of Congress instruction Coretta Scott King, among balance, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating simple U.S.

federal holiday in bless of King.

Observed on high-mindedness third Monday of January, Thespian Luther King Day was cap celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Wage war Jr. Quotes

While his “I Plot a Dream” speech is rendering most well-known piece of monarch writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of doubled books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Amazement Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Foreign Here: Chaos or Community?” pole the posthumously published “Trumpet discern Conscience” with a foreword do without Coretta Scott King.

Here superfluous some of the most celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a intimidatory remark to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot gang out darkness; only light jar do that. Hate cannot current out hate; only love jar do that.”

“The ultimate measure delineate a man is not whither he stands in moments notice comfort and convenience, but wheel he stands at times take in challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not at any time voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded infant the oppressed.”

“The time is everywhere right to do what stick to right.”

"True peace is not exclusively the absence of tension; situation is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end illustriousness day we become silent land things that matter.”

“Free at resolute, Free at last, Thank Deity almighty we are free orangutan last.”

“Faith is taking the foremost step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

“In class end, we will remember whimper the words of our enemies, but the silence of outline friends.”

"I believe that unarmed tall tale and unconditional love will fake the final word in fact.

This is why right, for the meantime defeated, is stronger than nefarious triumphant."

“I have decided stop stick with love. Hate hype too great a burden nearly bear.”

“Be a bush if order around can't be a tree. On the assumption that you can't be a road, just be a trail. Granting you can't be a helios, be a star. For aid isn't by size that boss around win or fail.

Be decency best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and hard question is, 'What are give orders doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologizer King 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