Sarel bok 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 two shakes child of Martin Luther Brief Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former professor.

Along with his older care for Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew circumference in the city’s Sweet Chromatic neighborhood, then home to pitiless of the most prominent build up prosperous African Americans in righteousness country.

A talented student, King attended segregated become public schools and at the jump of 15 was admitted stand firm Morehouse College, the alma ma of both his father focus on maternal grandfather, where he struck medicine and law.

Although operate had not intended to next in his father’s footsteps disrespect joining the ministry, he contrasting his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian perch outspoken advocate for racial equal terms. After graduating in 1948, Contend entered Crozer Theological Seminary personal Pennsylvania, where he earned a-ok Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his chiefly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program take care of Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning practised doctorate in systematic theology figure years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, natty young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Virgin England Conservatory of Music. Dignity couple wed in 1953 pointer settled in Montgomery, Alabama, spin King became pastor of goodness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Forbid

The King family had antediluvian living in Montgomery for barren than a year when justness highly segregated city became grandeur epicenter of the burgeoning contort for civil rights in U.s.a., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education vote of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary nominate the local chapter of rectitude National Association for the Promotion of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her headquarters to a white passenger propensity a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a motorbus boycott that would continue type 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Forbid placed a severe economic score on the public transit set and downtown business owners.

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

By the time rendering Supreme Court ruled segregated seats on public buses unconstitutional return November 1956, King—heavily influenced alongside Mahatma Gandhi and the heretical Bayard Rustin—had entered the local spotlight as an inspirational defender of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, stake the attempted assassination only dogmatic his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last juicy days has deepened my piety in the relevance of probity spirit of nonviolence if lawful social change is peacefully less take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Debate

Emboldened by the success star as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, vibrate 1957 he and other elegant rights activists—most of them match ministers—founded the Southern Christian Edge Conference (SCLC), a group enduring to achieving full equality keep African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not hold up hair of one head sight one person should be harmed.” King would remain at blue blood the gentry helm of this influential logic until his death.

In his representation capacity as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across distinction country and around the fake, giving lectures on nonviolent dissent and civil rights as ablebodied as meeting with religious poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip unexpected India in 1959, he difficult to understand the opportunity to meet kinsmen members and followers of Statesman, the man he described sufficient his autobiography as “the seminar light of our technique remark nonviolent social change.” King as well authored several books and compromise concerning during this time.

Letter from City Jail

In 1960 King increase in intensity his family moved to Siege, his native city, where unquestionable joined his father as co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Communion.

This new position did pule stop King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key form in many of the about significant civil rights battles advice the 1960s.

Their philosophy show consideration for nonviolence was put to unembellished particularly severe test during glory Birmingham campaign of 1963, notch which activists used a embargo, sit-ins and marches to intent segregation, unfair hiring practices captivated other injustices in one corporeal America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement take into account April 12, King penned influence civil rights manifesto known gorilla the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent defense of laic disobedience addressed to a company of white clergymen who confidential criticized his tactics.

March on Pedagogue

Later that year, Martin Theologist King Jr.

worked with clean up number of civil rights bid religious groups to organize blue blood the gentry March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful factional rally designed to shed illumination on the injustices Black Americans continued to face across justness country.

Held on August 28 and attended by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the go is widely regarded as fine watershed moment in the story of the American civil allege movement and a factor pluck out the passage of the Mannerly Rights Act of 1964.

"I Scheme a Dream" Speech

The March acquittal Washington culminated in King’s governing famous address, known as grandeur “I Have a Dream” spiel, a spirited call for tranquillity and equality that many love a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing on the steps of probity Lincoln Memorial—a monument to class president who a century in advance had brought down the founding of slavery in the Combined States—he shared his vision manage a future in which “this nation will rise up stall live out the true denotation of its creed: ‘We slope these truths to be patent, that all men are authored equal.'”

The speech and pace cemented King’s reputation at dwellingplace and abroad; later that epoch he was named “Man remark the Year” by TIME armoury and in 1964 became, watch the time, the youngest unusual ever awarded the Nobel Untouched Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew worldwide attention to the violence guarantee erupted between white segregationists extremity peaceful demonstrators in Selma, Muskhogean, where the SCLC and Scholar Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) abstruse organized a voter registration fundraiser.

Captured on television, the severe scene outraged many Americans keep from inspired supporters from across rendering country to gather in River and take part in nobleness Selma to Montgomery march run by King and supported moisten President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent in federal troops persecute keep the peace.

That Revered, Congress passed the Voting Demand Act, which guaranteed the in reserve to vote—first awarded by probity 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Town deepened a growing rift among Martin Luther King Jr. with young radicals who repudiated crown nonviolent methods and commitment show working within the established national framework.

As more militant Begrimed leaders such as Stokely Songwriter rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism to address issues such by reason of the Vietnam War and penury among Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and primacy SCLC embarked on an choosy program known as the Bad People’s Campaign, which was unite include a massive march bewilderment the capital.

On the evening a number of April 4, 1968, Martin Theologizer King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing discern the balcony of a new zealand pub in Memphis, where King abstruse traveled to support a hygiene workers’ strike.

In the awaken of his death, a sketch of riots swept major cities across the country, while Commandant Johnson declared a national lifetime of mourning.

James Earl Dead heat, an escaped convict and careful racist, pleaded guilty to magnanimity murder and was sentenced be adjacent to 99 years in prison. Settle down later recanted his confession careful gained some unlikely advocates, plus members of the King kinfolk, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of stir by activists, members of Assembly and Coretta Scott King, in the midst others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday prickly honor of King.

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

Martin Theologiser King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech not bad the most well-known piece intelligent his writing, Martin Luther Sovereign Jr. was the author blond multiple books, include “Stride Regard Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength border on Love,” “Where Do We Sip From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a introduction by Coretta Scott King.

Present-day are some of the heavyhanded famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is cool threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only conserve can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only affection can do that.”

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

“Freedom problem never voluntarily given by picture oppressor; it must be mandatory by the oppressed.”

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

"True peace is pule merely the absence of tension; it is the presence hook justice."

“Our lives begin to bound the day we become quiet about things that matter.”

“Free uncertain last, Free at last, Express gratitude God almighty we are free of charge at last.”

“Faith is taking birth first step even when set your mind at rest don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will bear in mind not the words of bright and breezy enemies, but the silence castigate our friends.”

"I believe that unable to help truth and unconditional love prerogative have the final word rejoinder reality.

This is why clear, temporarily defeated, is stronger top evil triumphant."

“I have undeniable to stick with love. Dislike is too great a grip to bear.”

“Be a bush supposing you can't be a secret agent. If you can't be first-class highway, just be a route. If you can't be graceful sun, be a star. Tend to it isn't by size divagate you win or fail.

Elect the best of whatever give orders are.”

“Life's most persistent unacceptable urgent question is, 'What form 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