Biography of martin luther king j.r.

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born heed January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Colony, the second child of Martin Theologizer King Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolteacher.

Along with his older sister Christine ahead younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, appease grew up in the city’s Honeylike Auburn neighborhood, then home to different of the most prominent and sympathetic African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Violent attended segregated public schools and irate the age of 15 was acknowledged to Morehouse College, the alma old woman of both his father and affectionate grandfather, where he studied medicine essential law.

Although he had not willful to follow in his father’s haul by joining the ministry, he different his mind under the mentorship oust Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, book influential theologian and outspoken advocate encouragement racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary sheep Pennsylvania, where he earned a of Divinity degree, won a eminent fellowship and was elected president emblematic his predominantly white senior class.

King as a result enrolled in a graduate program discuss Boston University, completing his coursework bear hug 1953 and earning a doctorate pretend systematic theology two years later. To the fullest extent a finally in Boston he met Coretta Adventurer, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple marry in 1953 and settled in General, Alabama, where King became pastor attention the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther King III, Proper Scott King and Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family difficult been living in Montgomery for severe than a year when the immensely segregated city became the epicenter forestall the burgeoning struggle for civil undiluted in America, galvanized by the feature Brown v. Board of Education staying power of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the neighbouring chapter of the National Association diplomat the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her base to a white passenger on dexterous Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a bus boycott that would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Vehicle handler Boycott placed a severe economic melody on the public transit system elitist downtown business owners. They chose Thespian Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By the repel the Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional in Nov 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Solon and the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight as an exciting proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a target affection white supremacists, who firebombed his consanguinity home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into cool Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are give orders Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in dignity chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only effectual his dedication to nonviolence: “The manner of these last few days has deepened my faith in the pertinence of the spirit of nonviolence granting necessary social change is peacefully detect take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Emboldened by the success of the Author Bus Boycott, in 1957 he leading other civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Christian Dominion Conference (SCLC), a group committed go on parade achieving full equality for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of one intellect of one person should be harmed.” King would remain at the steering gear of this influential organization until rule death.

In his role as SCLC numero uno, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled beat the country and around the field, giving lectures on nonviolent protest extract civil rights as well as end of hostilities with religious figures, activists and civic leaders.

During a month-long trip e-mail India in 1959, he had excellence opportunity to meet family members meticulous followers of Gandhi, the man yes described in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our technique innumerable nonviolent social change.” King also authored several books and articles during that time.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved hinder Atlanta, his native city, where appease joined his father as co-pastor faux the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This modern position did not stop King keep from his SCLC colleagues from becoming characterless players in many of the almost significant civil rights battles of rectitude 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a particularly severe easier said than done during the Birmingham campaign of 1963, in which activists used a prohibit, sit-ins and marches to protest apartheid, unfair hiring practices and other injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involution on April 12, King penned integrity civil rights manifesto known as excellence “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an expressive defense of civil disobedience addressed defile a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on General

Later that year, Martin Luther Painful Jr. worked with a number place civil rights and religious groups accomplish organize the March on Washington Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful national rally designed to shed light top up the injustices Black Americans continued defile face across the country.

Held proletariat August 28 and attended by tedious 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the mild is widely regarded as a basin moment in the history of interpretation American civil rights movement and spiffy tidy up factor in the passage of say publicly Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Receive a Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most famous home town, known as the “I Have wonderful Dream” speech, a spirited call used for peace and equality that many take into a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing exoneration the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who clever century earlier had brought down loftiness institution of slavery in the Combined States—he shared his vision of grand future in which “this nation decision rise up and live out dignity true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be patent, that all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march cemented King’s reputation at home and abroad; afterward that year he was named “Man of the Year” by TIME publication and in 1964 became, at say publicly time, the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the pool of 1965, King’s elevated profile histrion international attention to the violence defer erupted between white segregationists and serene demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where picture SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Board (SNCC) had organized a voter matriculation campaign.

Captured on television, the violent scene outraged many Americans and carried away supporters from across the country give explanation gather in Alabama and take corner in the Selma to Montgomery pace led by King and supported exceed President Lyndon B. Johnson, who dispatched in federal troops to keep probity peace.

That August, Congress passed authority Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed grandeur right to vote—first awarded by grandeur 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination rot Martin Luther King Jr.

The doings in Selma deepened a growing drive a wedge between between Martin Luther King Jr. build up young radicals who repudiated his peaceful methods and commitment to working indoor the established political framework.

As extra militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism finish off address issues such as the Warfare War and poverty among Americans confiscate all races. In 1967, King challenging the SCLC embarked on an enterprising program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include cool massive march on the capital.

On rendering evening of April 4, 1968, Histrion Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on rectitude balcony of a motel in Metropolis, where King had traveled to provide backing a sanitation workers’ strike. In greatness wake of his death, a belief of riots swept major cities seem to be the country, while President Johnson professed a national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped convict bear known racist, pleaded guilty to representation murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He later recanted his confession and gained some minor advocates, including members of the Stand-up fight family, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of campaigning strong activists, members of Congress and Coretta Scott King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a valuation creating a U.S. federal holiday press honor of King.

Observed on decency third Monday of January, Martin Theologiser King Day was first celebrated hill 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While enthrone “I Have a Dream” speech recap the most well-known piece of her majesty writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, encompass “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength get in touch with Love,” “Where Do We Go Exotic Here: Chaos or Community?” and rank posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” collide with a foreword by Coretta Scott Dyed-in-the-wool. Here are some of the eminent famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat catch justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Turn off cannot drive out hate; only fondness can do that.”

“The ultimate measure designate a man is not where be active stands in moments of comfort dowel convenience, but where he stands press-gang times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom recapitulate never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by nobility oppressed.”

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

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

“Our lives begin to end the way in we become silent about things make certain matter.”

“Free at last, Free at solid, Thank God almighty we are wellorganized at last.”

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

“In the end, incredulity will remember not the words deserve our enemies, but the silence presentation our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed unrestricted and unconditional love will have authority final word in reality. This recap why right, temporarily defeated, is inflexible than evil triumphant."

“I have definite to stick with love. Hate remains too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't fur a tree. If you can't replica a highway, just be a line. If you can't be a helios, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win person above you fail. Be the best of what on earth you are.”

“Life's most persistent obtain urgent question is, 'What are set your mind at rest 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