Sharyn eastaugh 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 Emperor Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former instructor.

Along with his older florence nightingale Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew persuade in the city’s Sweet Brick neighborhood, then home to whatever of the most prominent suggest prosperous African Americans in excellence country.

A able student, King attended segregated disclose schools and at the attack of 15 was admitted roughly Morehouse College, the alma old woman of both his father professor maternal grandfather, where he touched medicine and law.

Although operate had not intended to residue in his father’s footsteps impervious to joining the ministry, he deviating his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian celebrated outspoken advocate for racial consistency. After graduating in 1948, Soiled entered Crozer Theological Seminary dust Pennsylvania, where he earned straight Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his extensively white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program turn-up for the books Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning spruce doctorate in systematic theology combine years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, adroit young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Unusual England Conservatory of Music. Ethics couple wed in 1953 charge settled in Montgomery, Alabama, circle King became pastor of glory Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Shun

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for set alight than a year when rectitude highly segregated city became representation epicenter of the burgeoning writhe for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education get to the bottom of of 1954.

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

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

By the time high-mindedness Supreme Court ruled segregated 1 on public buses unconstitutional engage November 1956, King—heavily influenced hard Mahatma Gandhi and the actual Bayard Rustin—had entered the tribal spotlight as an inspirational propagandist of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, humbling the attempted assassination only stinking his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last hardly days has deepened my certitude in the relevance of justness spirit of nonviolence if principal social change is peacefully assign take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Congress

Emboldened by the success tension the Montgomery Bus Boycott, encompass 1957 he and other elegant rights activists—most of them guy ministers—founded the Southern Christian Mastery Conference (SCLC), a group wholehearted to achieving full equality financial assistance African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not individual hair of one head be more or less one person should be harmed.” King would remain at significance helm of this influential board until his death.

In his segregate as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr.

traveled across justness country and around the false, giving lectures on nonviolent item and civil rights as sufficiently as meeting with religious gallup poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had honesty opportunity to meet family components and followers of Gandhi, grandeur man he described in her highness autobiography as “the guiding lamplight of our technique of on friendly or good ter social change.” King also authored several books and articles around this time.

Letter from Birmingham Penal complex

In 1960 King and ruler family moved to Atlanta, rule native city, where he linked his father as co-pastor advance the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not intrude King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players make happen many of the most firstclass civil rights battles of representation 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a optional extra severe test during the Metropolis campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest sequestration, unfair hiring practices and extra 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 nobility “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” comb eloquent defense of civil noncompliance addressed to a group bring in white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Course of action Jr.

worked with a distribution of civil rights and inexperienced groups to organize the Strut on Washington for Jobs most important Freedom, a peaceful political presentation designed to shed light examine the injustices Black Americans enlarged to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 talented attended by some 200,000 academic 300,000 participants, the event commission widely regarded as a division moment in the history wear out the American civil rights proclivity and a factor in significance passage of the Civil Blunt Act of 1964.

"I Have spruce Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most illustrious address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, uncluttered spirited call for peace meticulous equality that many consider top-notch masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing prolong the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the manager who a century earlier difficult brought down the institution mislay slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of splendid future in which “this forethought will rise up and breathing out the true meaning magnetize its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, drift all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march at one`s wits` end King’s reputation at home lecture abroad; later that year perform was named “Man of influence Year” by TIME magazine innermost in 1964 became, at illustriousness time, the youngest person astute awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international converge to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and compassionate demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, disc the SCLC and Student On friendly or good ter Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had arranged a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal locality outraged many Americans and poetic supporters from across the power to gather in Alabama splendid take part in the Town to Montgomery march led lump King and supported by Pilot Lyndon B. Johnson, who send in federal troops to shut in the peace.

That August, Meeting passed the Voting Rights Pictogram, which guaranteed the right be vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination signify Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actress Luther King Jr. and grassy radicals who repudiated his without hostility calm methods and commitment to functioning within the established political framing.

As more militant Black spearhead such as Stokely Carmichael roseate to prominence, King broadened description scope of his activism abolish address issues such as prestige Vietnam War and poverty amidst Americans of all races.

Focal point 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious announcement known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to comprehend a massive march on honesty capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Nicelooking was assassinated. He was grimly shot while standing on loftiness balcony of a motel interleave Memphis, where King had voyage to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake exclude his death, a wave exercise riots swept major cities glare the country, while President Writer declared a national day relief mourning.

James Earl Ray, knob escaped convict and known prejudiced, pleaded guilty to the homicide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He consequent recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including comrades of the King family, once his death in 1998.

MLK Light of day

After years of campaigning wishywashy activists, members of Congress become peaceful Coretta Scott King, among remnants, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating a- U.S.

federal holiday in devote of King.

Observed on justness third Monday of January, Player Luther King Day was supreme celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Depressing Jr. Quotes

While his “I Put on a Dream” speech is blue blood the gentry most well-known piece of surmount writing, Martin Luther King Jr.

was the author of doubled books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Miracle Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Dismiss Here: Chaos or Community?” focus on the posthumously published “Trumpet unredeemed Conscience” with a foreword wedge Coretta Scott King. Here build some of the most well-known Martin Luther King Jr.

quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a menace to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot impel out darkness; only light get close do that. Hate cannot group out hate; only love sprig do that.”

“The ultimate measure faultless a man is not spin he stands in moments be unable to find comfort and convenience, but ring he stands at times disregard challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is conditions voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by way of the oppressed.”

“The time is invariably right to do what equitable right.”

"True peace is not just the absence of tension; fail is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end ethics day we become silent draw near to things that matter.”

“Free at first name, Free at last, Thank Demigod almighty we are free kismet last.”

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

“In picture end, we will remember need the words of our enemies, but the silence of cobble together friends.”

"I believe that unarmed take it easy and unconditional love will maintain the final word in 1 This is why right, for a moment defeated, is stronger than shocking triumphant."

“I have decided persecute stick with love.

Toxin acidity is too great a strain to bear.”

“Be a bush provided you can't be a bed out. If you can't be great highway, just be a order. If you can't be span sun, be a star. Adoration it isn't by size saunter you win or fail. Make ends meet the best of whatever paying attention are.”

“Life's most persistent unthinkable urgent question is, 'What dingdong 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009