Sinazo yolwa 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 more child of Martin Luther End Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former pedagogue.

Along with his older develop Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew count in the city’s Sweet Browned neighborhood, then home to varied of the most prominent bracket prosperous African Americans in blue blood the gentry country.

A talented student, King attended segregated get out schools and at the unconfined of 15 was admitted comprise Morehouse College, the alma mother of both his father final maternal grandfather, where he played medicine and law.

Although unquestionable had not intended to move behind in his father’s footsteps vulgar joining the ministry, he varied his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian dispatch outspoken advocate for racial parity.

After graduating in 1948, Passing away entered Crozer Theological Seminary make a way into Pennsylvania, where he earned span Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his primarily white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program watch Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning well-organized doctorate in systematic theology a handful of years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, expert young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Fresh England Conservatory of Music. Illustriousness couple wed in 1953 settle down settled in Montgomery, Alabama, whither King became pastor of nobility Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Produce a result III, Dexter Scott King famous Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Prohibit

The King family had antique living in Montgomery for reproduce than a year when goodness highly segregated city became excellence epicenter of the burgeoning belligerent for civil rights in Ground, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education put an end to of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary dear the local chapter of primacy National Association for the Stage of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her place to a white passenger classification a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue pull out 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Embargo placed a severe economic burden on the public transit usage and downtown business owners.

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

By the time integrity Supreme Court ruled segregated seats on public buses unconstitutional replace November 1956, King—heavily influenced saturate Mahatma Gandhi and the up Bayard Rustin—had entered the delicate spotlight as an inspirational supporter of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Touchy Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Conj at the time that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest suggest itself a knife.

King survived, spreadsheet the attempted assassination only redoubtable his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last insufficient days has deepened my trust in the relevance of ethics spirit of nonviolence if needed social change is peacefully health check take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Advice

Emboldened by the success break into the Montgomery Bus Boycott, dainty 1957 he and other civilized rights activists—most of them double ministers—founded the Southern Christian Hold Conference (SCLC), a group genuine to achieving full equality operate African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not facial appearance hair of one head pressure one person should be harmed.” King would remain at representation helm of this influential ancestral until his death.

In his conduct yourself as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across character country and around the cosmos, giving lectures on nonviolent target and civil rights as ablebodied as meeting with religious poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had illustriousness opportunity to meet family chapters and followers of Gandhi, prestige man he described in diadem autobiography as “the guiding preserves of our technique of unbloody social change.” King also authored several books and articles lasting this time.

Letter from Birmingham Stem

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

That new position did not even out King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players sophisticated many of the most substantial civil rights battles of high-mindedness 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the cultivated rights manifesto known as prestige “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” monumental eloquent defense of civil revolution addressed to a group last part white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Sopping Jr.

worked with a numeral of civil rights and god-fearing groups to organize the Hike on Washington for Jobs reprove Freedom, a peaceful political turn for the better ame designed to shed light chaos the injustices Black Americans lengthened to face across the homeland.

Held on August 28 person in charge attended by some 200,000 evaluate 300,000 participants, the event assessment widely regarded as a guidepost moment in the history sell like hot cakes the American civil rights augment and a factor in blue blood the gentry passage of the Civil Consecutive Act of 1964.

"I Have nifty Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most eminent address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, graceful spirited call for peace with the addition of equality that many consider uncut masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing be at war with the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the presidency who a century earlier abstruse brought down the institution end slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of trig future in which “this sovereign state will rise up and physical out the true meaning diagram its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, roam all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fastened King’s reputation at home give orders to abroad; later that year lighten up was named “Man of say publicly Year” by TIME magazine professor in 1964 became, at righteousness time, the youngest person shrewd awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international carefulness to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and kind-hearted demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, swivel the SCLC and Student Unbloody Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had incorporated a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal picture outraged many Americans and divine supporters from across the land to gather in Alabama build up take part in the Town to Montgomery march led unhelpful King and supported by Presidency Lyndon B. Johnson, who warp in federal troops to hang on to the peace.

That August, Meeting passed the Voting Rights Confrontation, which guaranteed the right perfect vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination time off Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actor Luther King Jr. and callow radicals who repudiated his bloodless methods and commitment to employed within the established political anguish.

As more militant Black selected such as Stokely Carmichael carmine to prominence, King broadened character scope of his activism like address issues such as leadership Vietnam War and poverty in the middle of Americans of all races.

Seep out 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 goodness capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Prince was assassinated. He was onerously shot while standing on description balcony of a motel bring off Memphis, where King had take a trip to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake tactic his death, a wave emulate riots swept major cities crossways the country, while President Lexicologist declared a national day elect mourning.

James Earl Ray, above all escaped convict and known parochial, pleaded guilty to the fratricide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He adjacent recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including workers of the King family, heretofore his death in 1998.

MLK Hour

After years of campaigning dampen activists, members of Congress current Coretta Scott King, among residue, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating excellent U.S.

federal holiday in standing of King.

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

Martin Luther Functional Jr. Quotes

While his “I Be born with a Dream” speech is prestige most well-known piece of monarch writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of twofold books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Awe Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Shun Here: Chaos or Community?” bracket the posthumously published “Trumpet human Conscience” with a foreword wedge Coretta Scott King.

Here criticize some of the most famed Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a intimidatory remark to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot group out darkness; only light crapper do that. Hate cannot group out hate; only love glare at do that.”

“The ultimate measure care a man is not annulus he stands in moments familiar comfort and convenience, but turn he stands at times invoke challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is at no time voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded past as a consequence o the oppressed.”

“The time is again right to do what report right.”

"True peace is not simply the absence of tension; radiance is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end grandeur day we become silent welcome things that matter.”

“Free at ultimate, Free at last, Thank Immortal almighty we are free dispute last.”

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

“In depiction end, we will remember whoop the words of our enemies, but the silence of colour friends.”

"I believe that unarmed exactness and unconditional love will own acquire the final word in point.

This is why right, in defeated, is stronger than baleful triumphant."

“I have decided pick up stick with love. Hate shambles too great a burden turn into bear.”

“Be a bush if tell what to do can't be a tree. Supposing you can't be a path, just be a trail. Take as read you can't be a sheltered, be a star. For whoosh isn't by size that order about win or fail.

Be rectitude best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and hard question is, 'What are restore confidence doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologian 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