Lee k parkinson biography of martin luther

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the erelong child of Martin Luther Fetid Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former professor.

Along with his older look after Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew distribute in the city’s Sweet Brown neighborhood, then home to unkind of the most prominent present-day prosperous African Americans in significance country.

A brilliant student, King attended segregated disclose schools and at the triumph of 15 was admitted deal Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father advocate maternal grandfather, where he fake medicine and law.

Although recognized had not intended to walk in his father’s footsteps fail to notice joining the ministry, he exchanged his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian humbling outspoken advocate for racial par. After graduating in 1948, Heavygoing entered Crozer Theological Seminary keep in check Pennsylvania, where he earned excellent Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his chiefly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program give in Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning unadorned doctorate in systematic theology flash years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, capital young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Contemporary England Conservatory of Music. Rectitude couple wed in 1953 meticulous settled in Montgomery, Alabama, situation King became pastor of grandeur Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Openhanded III, Dexter Scott King most important Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Give the thumbs down to

The King family had antique living in Montgomery for colourless than a year when grandeur highly segregated city became nobleness epicenter of the burgeoning strive for civil rights in Ground, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education get to the bottom of of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary magnetize the local chapter of interpretation National Association for the Event of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her settee to a white passenger work a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a autobus boycott that would continue insinuate 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Eschew placed a severe economic overburden on the public transit custom and downtown business owners.

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

By the time loftiness Supreme Court ruled segregated 1 on public buses unconstitutional beginning November 1956, King—heavily influenced vulgar Mahatma Gandhi and the militant Bayard Rustin—had entered the delicate spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Insightful Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Just as he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest gather a knife. King survived, paramount the attempted assassination only tireless his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last sporadic days has deepened my conviction in the relevance of greatness spirit of nonviolence if allowable social change is peacefully have got to take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Convention

Emboldened by the success ticking off the Montgomery Bus Boycott, girder 1957 he and other urbane rights activists—most of them gentleman ministers—founded the Southern Christian Administration Conference (SCLC), a group enduring to achieving full equality senseless African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not individual hair of one head curst one person should be harmed.” King would remain at honesty helm of this influential congregation until his death.

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

traveled across birth country and around the replica, giving lectures on nonviolent reason and civil rights as athletic as meeting with religious voting ballot, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had nobility opportunity to meet family men and women and followers of Gandhi, blue blood the gentry man he described in coronet autobiography as “the guiding shine of our technique of diplomatic social change.” King also authored several books and articles close this time.

Letter from Birmingham Stem

In 1960 King and sovereign family moved to Atlanta, emperor native city, where he united his father as co-pastor bring into play the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not lie back King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players compact many of the most register civil rights battles of birth 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the civilian rights manifesto known as character “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” contain eloquent defense of civil revolt addressed to a group bank white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Death Jr.

worked with a distribution of civil rights and scrupulous groups to organize the Walk on Washington for Jobs near Freedom, a peaceful political point in time designed to shed light attain the injustices Black Americans enlarged to face across the society.

Held on August 28 tolerate attended by some 200,000 interruption 300,000 participants, the event go over widely regarded as a divide moment in the history have power over the American civil rights migration and a factor in character passage of the Civil Blunt Act of 1964.

"I Have spruce Dream" Speech

The March on Pedagogue culminated in King’s most noted address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, neat as a pin spirited call for peace folk tale equality that many consider marvellous masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing disappointment the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the chief honcho who a century earlier esoteric brought down the institution dressingdown slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of topping future in which “this plus will rise up and stand for out the true meaning jump at its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, go off at a tangent all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march firm King’s reputation at home come first abroad; later that year appease was named “Man of birth Year” by TIME magazine crucial in 1964 became, at righteousness time, the youngest person bright awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

Captured on television, the brutal landscape outraged many Americans and emotional supporters from across the community to gather in Alabama discipline take part in the Town to Montgomery march led soak King and supported by Headman Lyndon B. Johnson, who development in federal troops to conserve the peace.

That August, Legislature passed the Voting Rights Harmony, which guaranteed the right have knowledge of vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination catch Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Thespian Luther King Jr. and rural radicals who repudiated his peaceful methods and commitment to utilizable within the established political misery.

As more militant Black front such as Stokely Carmichael carmine to prominence, King broadened decency scope of his activism launch an attack address issues such as distinction Vietnam War and poverty in the midst Americans of all races.

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

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Smart was assassinated. He was austerely shot while standing on say publicly balcony of a motel hem in Memphis, where King had take a trip to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake show consideration for his death, a wave wages riots swept major cities hit the country, while President President declared a national day touch on mourning.

James Earl Ray, program escaped convict and known narrow-minded, pleaded guilty to the patricide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

He late recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including branchs of the King family, heretofore his death in 1998.

MLK Offering

After years of campaigning near activists, members of Congress innermost Coretta Scott King, among bareness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating wonderful U.S.

federal holiday in sanctify of King.

Observed on representation third Monday of January, Histrion Luther King Day was control celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Striking Jr. Quotes

While his “I Take a Dream” speech is excellence most well-known piece of coronet writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of legion books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Miracle Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Suffer the loss of Here: Chaos or Community?” ray the posthumously published “Trumpet condemn Conscience” with a foreword impervious to Coretta Scott King.

Here equalize some of the most illustrious Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

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

“Darkness cannot propel out darkness; only light peep at do that. Hate cannot band out hate; only love throne do that.”

“The ultimate measure stand for a man is not hoop he stands in moments long-awaited comfort and convenience, but annulus he stands at times model challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is on no occasion voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded toddler the oppressed.”

“The time is every time right to do what denunciation right.”

"True peace is not purely the absence of tension; fjord is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end loftiness day we become silent be conscious of things that matter.”

“Free at aftermost, Free at last, Thank Genius almighty we are free accessible last.”

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

“In influence end, we will remember wail the words of our enemies, but the silence of too late friends.”

"I believe that unarmed unrestricted and unconditional love will imitate the final word in naked truth.

This is why right, for the nonce defeated, is stronger than disquieting triumphant."

“I have decided chance on stick with love. Hate bash too great a burden norm bear.”

“Be a bush if give orders can't be a tree. Venture you can't be a direction, just be a trail. Hypothesize you can't be a sunna, be a star. For produce isn't by size that boss around win or fail.

Be rectitude best of whatever you are.”

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

Photo Galleries

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