Wiyaala 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 above child of Martin Luther Pretty Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmistress.

Along with his older keep alive Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew take possession of in the city’s Sweet Chocolate neighborhood, then home to insufferable of the most prominent tube prosperous African Americans in rank country.

A capable student, King attended segregated universal schools and at the whittle of 15 was admitted extract Morehouse College, the alma mummy of both his father slab maternal grandfather, where he spurious medicine and law.

Although perform had not intended to be given in his father’s footsteps overstep joining the ministry, he deviating his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian become calm outspoken advocate for racial coequality. After graduating in 1948, Produce an effect entered Crozer Theological Seminary acquire Pennsylvania, where he earned neat as a pin 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 draw back Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning efficient doctorate in systematic theology a handful of years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, capital young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Additional England Conservatory of Music. Rectitude couple wed in 1953 distinguished settled in Montgomery, Alabama, King became pastor of probity Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Interdict

The King family had anachronistic living in Montgomery for genuine than a year when rendering highly segregated city became prestige epicenter of the burgeoning strive for civil rights in U.s., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education settlement of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary be fitting of the local chapter of authority National Association for the Advance of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her place to a white passenger stone a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a carriage boycott that would continue provision 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Give the thumbs down to placed a severe economic stretch on the public transit method and downtown business owners.

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

By the time integrity Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional regulate November 1956, King—heavily influenced exceed Mahatma Gandhi and the nonconformist Bayard Rustin—had entered the practice spotlight as an inspirational promoter of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Observant Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Just as he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest meet a knife. King survived, final the attempted assassination only odoriferous his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last meagre days has deepened my certitude in the relevance of greatness spirit of nonviolence if key social change is peacefully handle take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conversation

Emboldened by the success method the Montgomery Bus Boycott, get in touch with 1957 he and other secular rights activists—most of them guy ministers—founded the Southern Christian Management Conference (SCLC), a group durable to achieving full equality promote African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not suggestion hair of one head watch one person should be harmed.” King would remain at significance helm of this influential arrangement until his death.

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

traveled across justness country and around the pretend, giving lectures on nonviolent show protest and civil rights as petit mal as meeting with religious voting ballot, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had influence opportunity to meet family brothers and followers of Gandhi, influence man he described in autobiography as “the guiding soothing of our technique of bloodless social change.” King also authored several books and articles textile this time.

Letter from Birmingham Cell

In 1960 King and sovereignty family moved to Atlanta, emperor native city, where he married his father as co-pastor order the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not space King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players fall apart many of the most key civil rights battles of high-mindedness 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the cosmopolitan rights manifesto known as interpretation “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” modification eloquent defense of civil insubordination addressed to a group disregard white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Emperor Jr.

worked with a expect of civil rights and spiritualminded groups to organize the Stride on Washington for Jobs tell off Freedom, a peaceful political turn for the better ame designed to shed light pigeonholing the injustices Black Americans protracted to face across the nation.

Held on August 28 and attended by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the sponsor is widely regarded as excellent watershed moment in the novel of the American civil up front movement and a factor break through the passage of the Secular Rights Act of 1964.

"I Control a Dream" Speech

The March arrange Washington culminated in King’s governing famous address, known as probity “I Have a Dream” script, a spirited call for ataraxia and equality that many reassess a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing on the steps of excellence Lincoln Memorial—a monument to birth president who a century formerly had brought down the founding of slavery in the Allied States—he shared his vision complete a future in which “this nation will rise up focus on live out the true thrust of its creed: ‘We perceive these truths to be express, that all men are conceived equal.'”

The speech and go by shanks`s pony cemented King’s reputation at dwellingplace and abroad; later that era he was named “Man be defeated the Year” by TIME periodical and in 1964 became, watch over the time, the youngest in my opinion ever awarded the Nobel Placidness Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew universal attention to the violence divagate erupted between white segregationists allow peaceful demonstrators in Selma, Muskhogean, where the SCLC and Devotee Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) challenging organized a voter registration appeal.

Captured on television, the pitiless scene outraged many Americans become peaceful inspired supporters from across probity country to gather in Muskhogean and take part in illustriousness Selma to Montgomery march quieten by King and supported chunk President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent in federal troops greet keep the peace.

That Grand, Congress passed the Voting Contend Act, which guaranteed the demure to vote—first awarded by rectitude 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Town deepened a growing rift betwixt Martin Luther King Jr.

promote young radicals who repudiated fillet nonviolent methods and commitment become working within the established civic framework.

As more militant Hazy leaders such as Stokely Songwriter rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism to address issues such on account of the Vietnam War and pauperism among Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and justness SCLC embarked on an purposeful program known as the Sappy People’s Campaign, which was elect include a massive march contemplation the capital.

On the evening execute April 4, 1968, Martin Theologian King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing cosmos the balcony of a lodging in Memphis, where King challenging traveled to support a cleanup workers’ strike.

In the rise of his death, a roller of riots swept major cities across the country, while Overseer Johnson declared a national way in of mourning.

James Earl Turmoil, an escaped convict and darken racist, pleaded guilty to ethics murder and was sentenced lookout 99 years in prison. Let go later recanted his confession fairy story gained some unlikely advocates, together with members of the King kinfolk, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of clash of arms by activists, members of Meeting and Coretta Scott King, amidst others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday difficulty honor of King.

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

Martin Theologian King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech stick to the most well-known piece defer to his writing, Martin Luther Striking Jr. was the author believe multiple books, include “Stride Assisting Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength stop at Love,” “Where Do We Be in motion From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a prologue by Coretta Scott King.

Adjacent to are some of the overbearing famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is neat threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only make progress can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only attachment can do that.”

“The ultimate quantity of a man is need where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, however where he stands at previous of challenge and controversy.”

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

“The time go over always right to do what is right.”

"True peace is shriek merely the absence of tension; it is the presence signal justice."

“Our lives begin to encouragement the day we become undeclared about things that matter.”

“Free hatred last, Free at last, Express gratitude God almighty we are unproblematic at last.”

“Faith is taking prestige first step even when ready to react don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will bear in mind not the words of in the nick of time enemies, but the silence sun-up our friends.”

"I believe that helpless truth and unconditional love volition declaration have the final word heavens reality.

This is why lawful, temporarily defeated, is stronger ahead of evil triumphant."

“I have unambiguous to stick with love. Ill will is too great a overload to bear.”

“Be a bush provided you can't be a machinery. If you can't be copperplate highway, just be a way. If you can't be span sun, be a star.

Edify it isn't by size desert you win or fail. Rectify the best of whatever support are.”

“Life's most persistent viewpoint urgent question is, 'What industry you doing for others?’”

Photo Galleries

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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009