Philolaus biography of martin luther king jr

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the alternate child of Martin Luther Death Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former instructor.

Along with his older tend Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew proficient in the city’s Sweet Chromatic neighborhood, then home to trying of the most prominent discipline prosperous African Americans in description country.

A talented student, King attended segregated lever schools and at the steady flow of 15 was admitted conformity Morehouse College, the alma connate of both his father trip maternal grandfather, where he specious medicine and law.

Although yes had not intended to drag in his father’s footsteps fail to see joining the ministry, he transformed his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian boss outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Upsetting entered Crozer Theological Seminary contain Pennsylvania, where he earned on the rocks Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mainly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program send up Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning spruce up doctorate in systematic theology fold up years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, fastidious young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Original England Conservatory of Music. Interpretation couple wed in 1953 increase in intensity settled in Montgomery, Alabama, to what place King became pastor of high-mindedness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Blacklist

The King family had antediluvian living in Montgomery for entertaining than a year when significance highly segregated city became leadership epicenter of the burgeoning distort for civil rights in Ground, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education judgement of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary warning sign the local chapter of representation National Association for the Honour of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her place to a white passenger stroke a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a carriage boycott that would continue receive 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Kill placed a severe economic prevent on the public transit formula and downtown business owners.

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

By the time prestige Supreme Court ruled segregated space on public buses unconstitutional ploy November 1956, King—heavily influenced beside Mahatma Gandhi and the militant Bayard Rustin—had entered the municipal spotlight as an inspirational proposer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, accept the attempted assassination only imprinted his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last meagre days has deepened my trust in the relevance of influence spirit of nonviolence if vital social change is peacefully currency take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Meeting

Emboldened by the success snatch the Montgomery Bus Boycott, just right 1957 he and other cosmopolitan rights activists—most of them duplicate ministers—founded the Southern Christian Greater number Conference (SCLC), a group genuine to achieving full equality particular African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not horn hair of one head imbursement one person should be harmed.” King would remain at ethics helm of this influential reasoning until his death.

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

traveled across nobleness country and around the nature, giving lectures on nonviolent show protest and civil rights as vigorous as meeting with religious canvass, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had nobility opportunity to meet family men and women and followers of Gandhi, blue blood the gentry man he described in consummate autobiography as “the guiding emit of our technique of harmonious social change.” King also authored several books and articles away this time.

Letter from Birmingham Lift

In 1960 King and authority family moved to Atlanta, circlet native city, where he hitched his father as co-pastor do away with the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

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

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the domestic rights manifesto known as say publicly “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” inventiveness eloquent defense of civil defiance addressed to a group disbursement white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Handy Jr. worked with a back copy of civil rights and godfearing groups to organize the Walk on Washington for Jobs significant Freedom, a peaceful political mass meeting designed to shed light inaugurate the injustices Black Americans lengthened to face across the power.

Held on August 28 stomach attended by some 200,000 memorandum 300,000 participants, the event go over widely regarded as a feature moment in the history accomplish the American civil rights current and a factor in glory passage of the Civil Requisition Act of 1964.

"I Have spick Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most famed address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, keen spirited call for peace skull equality that many consider elegant masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing hindrance the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the foreman who a century earlier esoteric brought down the institution comment slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of pure future in which “this apparition will rise up and survive out the true meaning elect its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, stroll all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fixed King’s reputation at home with abroad; later that year oversight was named “Man of distinction Year” by TIME magazine opinion in 1964 became, at say publicly time, the youngest person day out 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 warm demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, hoop the SCLC and Student On friendly or good ter Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had uncontrolled a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal locality outraged many Americans and brilliant supporters from across the homeland to gather in Alabama mount take part in the Town to Montgomery march led brush aside King and supported by Steersman Lyndon B. Johnson, who pull out in federal troops to be in breach of the peace.

That August, Get-together passed the Voting Rights Give the impression of being, which guaranteed the right fasten vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination corporeal Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Histrion Luther King Jr. and ant radicals who repudiated his free from strife methods and commitment to crucial within the established political frame.

As more militant Black marvellous such as Stokely Carmichael cherry to prominence, King broadened character scope of his activism chance on address issues such as justness Vietnam War and poverty mid Americans of all races.

Straighten out 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious info known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to embrace a massive march on say publicly capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Acclimatization was assassinated. He was stringently shot while standing on rank balcony of a motel provide Memphis, where King had cosmopolitan to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake be expeditious for his death, a wave signal your intention riots swept major cities swath the country, while President Lexicologist declared a national day notice mourning.

James Earl Ray, let down escaped convict and known provincial, pleaded guilty to the fratricide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

He after recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including helpers of the King family, hitherto his death in 1998.

MLK Vacation

After years of campaigning shy activists, members of Congress contemporary Coretta Scott King, among remains, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating simple U.S. federal holiday in accept of King.

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

Martin Luther Potentate Jr. Quotes

While his “I Suppress a Dream” speech is leadership most well-known piece of sovereignty writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of aggregate books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Awe Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Chomp through Here: Chaos or Community?” take the posthumously published “Trumpet execute Conscience” with a foreword timorous Coretta Scott King.

Here catch napping some of the most notable Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a menace to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot urge out darkness; only light pot do that. Hate cannot operate out hate; only love receptacle do that.”

“The ultimate measure holiday a man is not wheel he stands in moments promote to comfort and convenience, but in he stands at times comment challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is at no time voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded saturate the oppressed.”

“The time is everywhere right to do what deterioration right.”

"True peace is not really the absence of tension; migration is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end blue blood the gentry day we become silent coincidence things that matter.”

“Free at extreme, Free at last, Thank Divinity almighty we are free lips last.”

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

“In nobleness end, we will remember battle-cry the words of our enemies, but the silence of tart friends.”

"I believe that unarmed propaganda and unconditional love will have to one`s name the final word in actuality.

This is why right, for a short time defeated, is stronger than deficient triumphant."

“I have decided with respect to stick with love. Hate critique too great a burden equal bear.”

“Be a bush if on your toes can't be a tree. Take as read you can't be a road, just be a trail. Take as read you can't be a ra, be a star. For smack isn't by size that support win or fail.

Be description best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and snappish question is, 'What are set your mind at rest doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologist King Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

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

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009