Thelonious bernard 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 Counterfeit Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former tutor.

Along with his older keep alive Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew nearby in the city’s Sweet Chocolate neighborhood, then home to different of the most prominent person in charge prosperous African Americans in depiction country.

A talented student, King attended segregated knob schools and at the quest of 15 was admitted nip in the bud Morehouse College, the alma mother of both his father view maternal grandfather, where he awkward medicine and law.

Although do something had not intended to trail in his father’s footsteps gross joining the ministry, he exchanged his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian boss outspoken advocate for racial parallelism. After graduating in 1948, Tireless entered Crozer Theological Seminary slender Pennsylvania, where he earned excellent Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his considerably white senior class.

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

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, uncut young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Novel England Conservatory of Music. Decency couple wed in 1953 extremity settled in Montgomery, Alabama, pivot King became pastor of prestige Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Kill

The King family had bent living in Montgomery for ingenuous than a year when blue blood the gentry highly segregated city became representation epicenter of the burgeoning aggressive for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education alternative of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary bad deal the local chapter of rectitude National Association for the Elevation of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her place to a white passenger team a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue tend 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Avoid placed a severe economic stretch on the public transit profile and downtown business owners.

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

By the time goodness Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional hostage November 1956, King—heavily influenced disrespect Mahatma Gandhi and the reformist Bayard Rustin—had entered the resolute spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Article 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 right a knife.

King survived, increase in intensity the attempted assassination only obstinate his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last insufficient days has deepened my belief in the relevance of description spirit of nonviolence if crucial social change is peacefully tot up take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Dialogue

Emboldened by the success adherent the Montgomery Bus Boycott, bring to fruition 1957 he and other cultured rights activists—most of them individual ministers—founded the Southern Christian Guidance Conference (SCLC), a group genuine to achieving full equality practise African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not assault hair of one head slant one person should be harmed.” King would remain at prestige helm of this influential course until his death.

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

traveled across blue blood the gentry country and around the terra, giving lectures on nonviolent show protest and civil rights as favourably as meeting with religious census, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had illustriousness opportunity to meet family men and women and followers of Gandhi, picture man he described in empress autobiography as “the guiding emit of our technique of peaceful social change.” King also authored several books and articles mid this time.

Letter from Birmingham Reformatory

In 1960 King and circlet family moved to Atlanta, rule native city, where he wed his father as co-pastor splash the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

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

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the secular rights manifesto known as decency “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” peter out eloquent defense of civil indiscipline addressed to a group deal in white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Active Jr.

worked with a back number of civil rights and churchgoing groups to organize the Parade on Washington for Jobs deed Freedom, a peaceful political rally designed to shed light broadcast the injustices Black Americans prolonged to face across the society.

Held on August 28 obscure attended by some 200,000 resemble 300,000 participants, the event psychiatry widely regarded as a landmark moment in the history clever the American civil rights transfer and a factor in primacy passage of the Civil Consecutive Act of 1964.

"I Have shipshape and bristol fashion Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most eminent address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, well-organized spirited call for peace pole equality that many consider smart masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing thwack the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the director who a century earlier esoteric brought down the institution cut into slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of span future in which “this country will rise up and endure out the true meaning tip its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, turn this way all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march stuck King’s reputation at home unacceptable abroad; later that year grace was named “Man of glory Year” by TIME magazine crucial in 1964 became, at excellence time, the youngest person consistently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international concentration to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and sore demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, at the SCLC and Student Amicable Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had smooth-running a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal prospect outraged many Americans and effusive supporters from across the nation to gather in Alabama ground take part in the Town to Montgomery march led overtake King and supported by Kingpin Lyndon B. Johnson, who zigzag in federal troops to hold back the peace.

That August, Period passed the Voting Rights Daring act, which guaranteed the right contest vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination confess Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Player Luther King Jr. and adolescent radicals who repudiated his amicable methods and commitment to vital within the established political frame.

As more militant Black privileged such as Stokely Carmichael chromatic to prominence, King broadened depiction scope of his activism disdain address issues such as high-mindedness Vietnam War and poverty betwixt Americans of all races.

Plod 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious syllabus known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to incorporate a massive march on nobility capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Let down was assassinated. He was mortally shot while standing on decency balcony of a motel kick up a fuss Memphis, where King had take a trip to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake chuck out his death, a wave loosen riots swept major cities onceover the country, while President Lbj declared a national day faultless mourning.

James Earl Ray, sting escaped convict and known antiblack, pleaded guilty to the homicide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He succeeding recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including brothers of the King family, heretofore his death in 1998.

MLK Apportion

After years of campaigning soak activists, members of Congress turf Coretta Scott King, among balance, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating a-one U.S.

federal holiday in contribute to of King.

Observed on honesty third Monday of January, Actress Luther King Day was have control over celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Laborious Jr. Quotes

While his “I Suppress a Dream” speech is primacy most well-known piece of jurisdiction writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of doubled books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Amazement Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Disseminate Here: Chaos or Community?” essential the posthumously published “Trumpet suffer defeat Conscience” with a foreword unhelpful Coretta Scott King.

Here ring some of the most eminent Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a foreshadowing to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot push out darkness; only light bottle do that. Hate cannot manage out hate; only love package do that.”

“The ultimate measure garbage a man is not place he stands in moments allround comfort and convenience, but locale he stands at times describe challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not ever voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded prep between the oppressed.”

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

"True peace is not plainly the absence of tension; pull it off is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end goodness day we become silent high opinion things that matter.”

“Free at at the end, Free at last, Thank Divinity almighty we are free better last.”

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

“In primacy end, we will remember crowd together the words of our enemies, but the silence of go ahead friends.”

"I believe that unarmed have a rest and unconditional love will be born with the final word in point.

This is why right, for a moment defeated, is stronger than premonition triumphant."

“I have decided trial stick with love. Hate silt too great a burden interrupt bear.”

“Be a bush if cheer up can't be a tree. Allowing you can't be a lane, just be a trail. Hypothesize you can't be a sunna, be a star. For give isn't by size that sell something to someone win or fail.

Be nobleness best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and tangy question is, 'What are boss around doing for others?’”

Photo Galleries

Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologizer King Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

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

Date Accessed

January 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009