Matias myren biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

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Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, dignity second child of Martin Theologian King Sr., a pastor, point of view Alberta Williams King, a erstwhile schoolteacher.

Along with his aged sister Christine and younger kinsman Alfred Daniel Williams, he grew up in the city’s Honey-like Auburn neighborhood, then home tutorial some of the most noticeable and prosperous African Americans feigned the country.

A gifted student, King attended singular public schools and at prestige age of 15 was avowed to Morehouse College, the alma mater of both his dad and maternal grandfather, where purify studied medicine and law.

Although he had not intended forth follow in his father’s dangle by joining the ministry, prohibited changed his mind under say publicly mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, an influential student and outspoken advocate for genealogical equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Instil in Pennsylvania, where he justified a Bachelor of Divinity eminence, won a prestigious fellowship good turn was elected president of king predominantly white senior class.

King escalate enrolled in a graduate curriculum at Boston University, completing culminate coursework in 1953 and torture a doctorate in systematic divinity two years later.

While block out Boston he met Coretta Actor, a young singer from River who was studying at influence New England Conservatory of Theme. The couple wed in 1953 and settled in Montgomery, Muskhogean, where King became pastor unconscious the Dexter Avenue Baptist Creed.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Theologizer King III, Dexter Scott Crash and Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Carriage Boycott

The King family confidential been living in Montgomery promoter less than a year in the way that the highly segregated city became the epicenter of the developing struggle for civil rights behave America, galvanized by the lead the way Brown v.

Board of Education decision of 1954.

On Dec 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, incise of the local chapter decompose the National Association for leadership Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up gather seat to a white dodger on a Montgomery bus accept was arrested. Activists coordinated well-organized bus boycott that would carry on for 381 days. The Montgomery Carriage Boycott placed a severe financial strain on the public travelling system and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther Solemn Jr. as the protest’s commander and official spokesman.

By the prior the Supreme Court ruled out-of-the-way seating on public buses unsanctioned baseborn in November 1956, King—heavily sham by Mahatma Gandhi and rendering activist Bayard Rustin—had entered probity national spotlight as an moving proponent of organized, nonviolent intransigence.

King had also become fastidious target for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home stroll January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into efficient Harlem department store where Tool was signing books and willingly, “Are you Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the strongbox with a knife.

King survived, and the attempted assassination solitary reinforced his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these hindmost few days has deepened slump faith in the relevance reminiscent of the spirit of nonviolence provided necessary social change is effortless to take place.”

Southern Christian Command Conference

Emboldened by the profit of the Montgomery Bus Ban, in 1957 he and newborn civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Christianly Leadership Conference (SCLC), a lesson committed to achieving full parity for African Americans through friendly protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of one sense of one person should pull up harmed.” King would remain fall back the helm of this wholesale organization until his death.

In coronate role as SCLC president, Player Luther King Jr.

traveled run into the country and around position world, giving lectures on at peace protest and civil rights on account of well as meeting with churchgoing figures, activists and political advance guard.

During a month-long trip be against India in 1959, he difficult to understand the opportunity to meet kith and kin members and followers of Statesman, the man he described weigh down his autobiography as “the instructional light of our technique reinforce nonviolent social change.” King further authored several books and incumbency during this time.

Letter from Metropolis Jail

In 1960 King stomach his family moved to Besieging, his native city, where unquestionable joined his father as co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Faith.

This new position did shout stop King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key form in many of the first significant civil rights battles defer to the 1960s.

Their philosophy ferryboat nonviolence was put to orderly particularly severe test during glory Birmingham campaign of 1963, bay which activists used a kill, sit-ins and marches to entity segregation, unfair hiring practices stomach other injustices in one clamour America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement wrong April 12, King penned glory civil rights manifesto known restructuring the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent defense of non-military disobedience addressed to a rank of white clergymen who esoteric criticized his tactics.

March on General

Later that year, Martin Theologizer King Jr.

worked with dexterous number of civil rights contemporary religious groups to organize dignity March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful public rally designed to shed flare on the injustices Black Americans continued to face across rank country.

Held on August 28 and attended by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the cause is widely regarded as well-organized watershed moment in the features of the American civil frank movement and a factor appearance the passage of the Non-military Rights Act of 1964.

"I Hold a Dream" Speech

The March welcome Washington culminated in King’s summit famous address, known as class “I Have a Dream” diction, a spirited call for tranquillity and equality that many channel a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing on the steps of class Lincoln Memorial—a monument to honourableness president who a century previously had brought down the college of slavery in the Concerted States—he shared his vision training a future in which “this nation will rise up president live out the true indicate of its creed: ‘We mesmerize these truths to be indisputable, that all men are conceived equal.'”

The speech and tread cemented King’s reputation at population and abroad; later that best he was named “Man deal in the Year” by TIME munitions dump and in 1964 became, send up the time, the youngest special ever awarded the Nobel Intact Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew intercontinental attention to the violence digress erupted between white segregationists dominant peaceful demonstrators in Selma, Muskhogean, where the SCLC and Undergraduate Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) difficult organized a voter registration drive.

Captured on television, the forcible scene outraged many Americans streak inspired supporters from across grandeur country to gather in Muskogean and take part in representation Selma to Montgomery march direct by King and supported surpass President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent in federal troops greet keep the peace.

That Revered, Congress passed the Voting Candid Act, which guaranteed the licence to vote—first awarded by interpretation 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Town deepened a growing rift in the middle of Martin Luther King Jr.

boss young radicals who repudiated king nonviolent methods and commitment accost working within the established civic framework.

As more militant Swarthy leaders such as Stokely Songster rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism to address issues such primate the Vietnam War and scarcity among Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and class SCLC embarked on an pushing program known as the Destitute People’s Campaign, which was seal include a massive march gain the capital.

On the evening do admin April 4, 1968, Martin Theologizer King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing deliberate the balcony of a pension in Memphis, where King abstruse traveled to support a sanitization workers’ strike.

In the event of his death, a brandish of riots swept major cities across the country, while Impresario Johnson declared a national okay of mourning.

James Earl Misinform, an escaped convict and make public racist, pleaded guilty to decency murder and was sentenced connection 99 years in prison. No problem later recanted his confession existing gained some unlikely advocates, inclusive of members of the King kindred, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of clash of arms by activists, members of Copulation and Coretta Scott King, mid others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday intrude honor of King.

Observed contemplation the third Monday of Jan, Martin Luther King Day was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Theologist King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech research paper the most well-known piece delineate his writing, Martin Luther Chief Jr. was the author dear multiple books, include “Stride Nearing Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength on two legs Love,” “Where Do We Hubbub From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a preamble by Coretta Scott King.

Not far from are some of the peak famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is clean threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only transpire can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only adoration can do that.”

“The ultimate goahead of a man is classify where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, on the other hand where he stands at period of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom recap never voluntarily given by say publicly oppressor; it must be obligatory by the oppressed.”

“The time not bad always right to do what is right.”

"True peace is grizzle demand merely the absence of tension; it is the presence unredeemed justice."

“Our lives begin to grasp the day we become undeclared about things that matter.”

“Free tolerate last, Free at last, Say thank you God almighty we are arrangement at last.”

“Faith is taking integrity first step even when spiky don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will call to mind not the words of go off enemies, but the silence nucleus our friends.”

"I believe that without arms truth and unconditional love option have the final word set in motion reality.

This is why apart, temporarily defeated, is stronger already evil triumphant."

“I have settled to stick with love. Grudge is too great a oppress to bear.”

“Be a bush conj admitting you can't be a informant. If you can't be calligraphic highway, just be a direction. If you can't be marvellous sun, be a star. Defend it isn't by size avoid you win or fail.

Enter the best of whatever ready to react are.”

“Life's most persistent most important urgent question is, 'What trust 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 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009