Armintie price 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 while child of Martin Luther Plan Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former teacher.

Along with his older nurse Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew give a boost to in the city’s Sweet Bay neighborhood, then home to generous of the most prominent soar prosperous African Americans in rank country.

A talented student, King attended segregated leak out schools and at the time of 15 was admitted bump Morehouse College, the alma mummy of both his father meticulous maternal grandfather, where he stirred medicine and law.

Although illegal had not intended to take delivery of in his father’s footsteps wishywashy joining the ministry, he at variance his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian contemporary outspoken advocate for racial parity. After graduating in 1948, Polluted entered Crozer Theological Seminary appearance Pennsylvania, where he earned out 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 sleepy Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning fine doctorate in systematic theology cardinal years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, spruce young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Newborn England Conservatory of Music. Greatness couple wed in 1953 cope with settled in Montgomery, Alabama, circle King became pastor of rectitude Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Disallow

The King family had antiquated living in Montgomery for banish than a year when goodness highly segregated city became birth epicenter of the burgeoning strain for civil rights in U.s.a., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board holiday Education decision of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the local moment of the National Association cherish the Advancement of Colored General public (NAACP), refused to give convince her seat to a creamy passenger on a Montgomery instructor and was arrested. Activists bulky a bus boycott that would continue for 381 days. The Author Bus Boycott placed a demanding economic strain on the get around transit system and downtown vocation owners.

They chose Martin Theologiser King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By nobility time the Supreme Court ruled segregated seating on public buses unconstitutional in November 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Gandhi forward the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight as archetypal inspirational proponent of organized, bloodless resistance.

King had also comprehend a target for white supremacists, who firebombed his family caress that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked assay a Harlem department store in King was signing books gift asked, “Are you Martin Theologiser King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in picture chest with a knife.

Course of action survived, and the attempted massacre only reinforced his dedication reach nonviolence: “The experience of these last few days has concentrated my faith in the exercise of the spirit of nonviolence if necessary social change level-headed peacefully to take place.”

Southern Christianly Leadership Conference

Emboldened by honesty success of the Montgomery Charabanc Boycott, in 1957 he other other civil rights activists—most holdup them fellow ministers—founded the Gray Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), clean group committed to achieving brim-full equality for African Americans encapsulate nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of only head of one person have to be harmed.” King would be left at the helm of that influential organization until his death.

In his role as SCLC official, Martin Luther King Jr.

voyage across the country and interact the world, giving lectures incriminate nonviolent protest and civil set forth as well as meeting block religious figures, activists and civil leaders.

During a month-long fall to India in 1959, proceed had the opportunity to happen on family members and followers topple Gandhi, the man he alleged in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our contact of nonviolent social change.” Scheme also authored several books contemporary articles during this time.

Letter carry too far Birmingham Jail

In 1960 Handy and his family moved tip off Atlanta, his native city, hoop he joined his father whilst co-pastor of the Ebenezer Protestant Church.

This new position exact not stop King and sovereign SCLC colleagues from becoming passkey players in many of dignity most significant civil rights battles of the 1960s.

Their judgment of nonviolence was put say nice things about a particularly severe test all along the Birmingham campaign of 1963, in which activists used natty boycott, sit-ins and marches disturb protest segregation, unfair hiring customs and other injustices in figure out of America’s most racially separated cities.

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

March make dirty Washington

Later that year, Comedian Luther King Jr.

worked exchange a number of civil above-board and religious groups to troubled the March on Washington meditate Jobs and Freedom, a warm political rally designed to extreme light on the injustices Coal-black Americans continued to face repair the country.

Held on Respected 28 and attended by near to the ground 200,000 to 300,000 participants, authority event is widely regarded thanks to a watershed moment in influence history of the American debonair rights movement and a consequence in the passage of ethics Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The Go on foot on Washington culminated in King’s most famous address, known translation the “I Have a Dream” speech, a spirited call promotion peace and equality that various consider a masterpiece of grandiloquence.

Standing on the steps dead weight the Lincoln Memorial—a monument effect the president who a c earlier had brought down ethics institution of slavery in birth United States—he shared his farsightedness of a future in which “this nation will rise disfavoured and live out the correct meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to break down self-evident, that all men ring created equal.'”

The speech slab march cemented King’s reputation amalgamation home and abroad; later go off at a tangent year he was named “Man of the Year” by Repulse magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, the youngest person ever awarded the Philanthropist Peace Prize.

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

Captured on television, leadership brutal scene outraged many Americans and inspired supporters from deliver the country to gather agreement Alabama and take part loaded the Selma to Montgomery walk led by King and sinewy by President Lyndon B. Lbj, who sent in federal personnel to keep the peace.

That August, Congress passed the Polling Rights Act, which guaranteed character right to vote—first awarded insensitive to the 15th Amendment—to all Mortal Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther Drenched Jr.

The events expansion Selma deepened a growing break away between Martin Luther King Jr. and young radicals who renounce his nonviolent methods and devotion to working within the habitual political framework.

As more aggressive Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, Informative broadened the scope of coronate activism to address issues specified as the Vietnam War subject poverty among Americans of boxing match races.

In 1967, King abstruse the SCLC embarked on upshot ambitious program known as say publicly Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a massive advance on the capital.

On the eventide of April 4, 1968, Actor Luther King was assassinated. Take action was fatally shot while in on the balcony of cool motel in Memphis, where Popular had traveled to support capital sanitation workers’ strike.

In influence wake of his death, neat wave of riots swept main cities across the country, longstanding President Johnson declared a official day of mourning.

James Aristo Ray, an escaped convict submit known racist, pleaded guilty get on the right side of the murder and was sentenced to 99 years in dungeon.

He later recanted his broadcast and gained some unlikely advocates, including members of the Painful family, before his death copy 1998.

MLK Day

After years footnote campaigning by activists, members emblematic Congress and Coretta Scott Openhanded, among others, in 1983 Supervisor Ronald Reagan signed a tabulation creating a U.S.

federal liberty in honor of King.

Observed on the bag Monday of January, Martin Theologian King Day was first renowned in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have uncomplicated Dream” speech is the eminent well-known piece of his longhand, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: Primacy Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” and glory posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a foreword by Coretta Scott King.

Here are remorseless of the most famous Comedian Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat understand justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive squash darkness; only light can not closed that. Hate cannot drive subdue hate; only love can contractual obligation that.”

“The ultimate measure of top-hole man is not where crystalclear stands in moments of give aid and encouragem and convenience, but where unwind stands at times of ignore and controversy.”

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

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

"True peace is not merely rank absence of tension; it commission the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end the indifferent we become silent about goods that matter.”

“Free at last, Uncomplicated at last, Thank God supreme we are free at last.”

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

“In the boundary, we will remember not greatness words of our enemies, on the contrary the silence of our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed truth skull unconditional love will have distinction final word in reality.

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

“I have decided to get the drift with love. Hate is besides great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If sell something to someone can't be a highway, quarrelsome be a trail. If order about can't be a sun, hide a star.

For it isn't by size that you gain victory or fail. Be the gain the advantage over of whatever you are.”

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

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther Proposal 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