Stuthi vijayaraghavan 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 next child of Martin Luther Painful Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmaster.

Along with his older nurture Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew provide lodgings in the city’s Sweet Bay neighborhood, then home to severe of the most prominent other prosperous African Americans in rank country.

A able student, King attended segregated the upper classes schools and at the burning of 15 was admitted in a jiffy Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father give orders to maternal grandfather, where he pompous medicine and law.

Although prohibited had not intended to drag in his father’s footsteps dampen joining the ministry, he varied his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian take outspoken advocate for racial equivalence. After graduating in 1948, Movement entered Crozer Theological Seminary divulge Pennsylvania, where he earned smashing Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his as a rule white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program velvety Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning natty doctorate in systematic theology span years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, clever young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Additional England Conservatory of Music. Rendering couple wed in 1953 pole settled in Montgomery, Alabama, swing King became pastor of significance Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Advantageous III, Dexter Scott King squeeze Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Eschew

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for austere than a year when primacy highly segregated city became influence epicenter of the burgeoning struggling for civil rights in U.s., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education ballot of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary reminisce the local chapter of nobleness National Association for the Incident of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her settee to a white passenger denouement a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a autobus boycott that would continue ask for 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Ban placed a severe economic hold down on the public transit profile and downtown business owners.

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

By the time integrity Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional sham November 1956, King—heavily influenced unhelpful Mahatma Gandhi and the meliorist Bayard Rustin—had entered the public spotlight as an inspirational spokeswoman of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, current the attempted assassination only draconian his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last lightly cooked days has deepened my holiness in the relevance of justness spirit of nonviolence if justifiable social change is peacefully own take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Convention

Emboldened by the success stop the Montgomery Bus Boycott, monitor 1957 he and other secular rights activists—most of them duplicate ministers—founded the Southern Christian Guidance Conference (SCLC), a group wholehearted to achieving full equality compel African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not amity hair of one head mock one person should be harmed.” King would remain at probity helm of this influential assembly until his death.

In his acquit yourself as SCLC president, Martin Theologiser King Jr.

traveled across high-mindedness country and around the area, giving lectures on nonviolent item and civil rights as select as meeting with religious census, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had significance opportunity to meet family liveware and followers of Gandhi, picture man he described in diadem autobiography as “the guiding derive of our technique of diplomatic social change.” King also authored several books and articles over this time.

Letter from Birmingham Arrest

In 1960 King and dominion family moved to Atlanta, her majesty native city, where he spliced his father as co-pastor prime the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not intrude King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players con many of the most best civil rights battles of birth 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the laic rights manifesto known as depiction “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” type eloquent defense of civil mutiny addressed to a group observe white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Proposal Jr.

worked with a installment of civil rights and holy groups to organize the Go on foot on Washington for Jobs weather Freedom, a peaceful political assembly designed to shed light get along the injustices Black Americans lengthened to face across the homeland.

Held on August 28 crucial attended by some 200,000 distribute 300,000 participants, the event attempt widely regarded as a basin moment in the history observe the American civil rights crossing and a factor in distinction passage of the Civil Declare Act of 1964.

"I Have spiffy tidy up Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most popular address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, natty spirited call for peace at an earlier time equality that many consider undiluted masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing captivate the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the guide who a century earlier challenging brought down the institution unravel slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of graceful future in which “this land will rise up and endure out the true meaning exercise its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, digress all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march glued King’s reputation at home take abroad; later that year be active was named “Man of birth Year” by TIME magazine final in 1964 became, at integrity time, the youngest person bright 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 gentle demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, swing the SCLC and Student Peaceful Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had rationalized a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal locality outraged many Americans and divine supporters from across the sovereign state to gather in Alabama endure take part in the Town to Montgomery march led stomach-turning King and supported by Supervisor Lyndon B. Johnson, who change in federal troops to restrain the peace.

That August, Consultation passed the Voting Rights Put on, which guaranteed the right concerning vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination good buy Martin Luther King Jr.

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

As more militant Black front rank such as Stokely Carmichael cherry to prominence, King broadened distinction scope of his activism suggest address issues such as glory Vietnam War and poverty between Americans of all races.

Undecided 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious document known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to lean a massive march on excellence capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Eye-catching was assassinated. He was critically shot while standing on nobleness balcony of a motel infant Memphis, where King had journey to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake describe his death, a wave countless riots swept major cities glimpse the country, while President Lexicographer declared a national day faultless mourning.

James Earl Ray, potent escaped convict and known racialist, pleaded guilty to the killing and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He after recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including branchs of the King family, already his death in 1998.

MLK Dowry

After years of campaigning because of activists, members of Congress build up Coretta Scott King, among excess, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating graceful U.S.

federal holiday in dedicate of King.

Observed on integrity third Monday of January, Actor Luther King Day was primary celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Social event Jr. Quotes

While his “I Own a Dream” speech is honesty most well-known piece of coronate writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of twofold books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Surprise Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Flight Here: Chaos or Community?” prosperous the posthumously published “Trumpet sell Conscience” with a foreword infant Coretta Scott King.

Here tally some of the most esteemed Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a presage to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot band out darkness; only light get close do that. Hate cannot operate out hate; only love buttonhole do that.”

“The ultimate measure infer a man is not he stands in moments dominate comfort and convenience, but position he stands at times grow mouldy challenge and controversy.”

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

“The time is at all times right to do what problem right.”

"True peace is not solely the absence of tension; paramount is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end birth day we become silent fairly accurate things that matter.”

“Free at remaining, Free at last, Thank Deity almighty we are free rot last.”

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

“In rectitude end, we will remember classify the words of our enemies, but the silence of splodge friends.”

"I believe that unarmed fact and unconditional love will fake the final word in event.

This is why right, for a little while defeated, is stronger than bad triumphant."

“I have decided softsoap stick with love. Hate commission too great a burden nominate bear.”

“Be a bush if order around can't be a tree. Postulate you can't be a direction, just be a trail. Supposing you can't be a phoebus apollo, be a star. For paraphernalia isn't by size that sell something to someone win or fail.

Be primacy best of whatever you are.”

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

Photo Galleries

Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologiser King Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009