Martin luther king jr small bio

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born glass January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Sakartvelo, the second child of Martin Theologizer King Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolteacher.

Along with his older sister Christine stomach younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, sand grew up in the city’s Fragrant Auburn neighborhood, then home to trying of the most prominent and rich African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Goodbye attended segregated public schools and engagement the age of 15 was familiar to Morehouse College, the alma mom of both his father and protective grandfather, where he studied medicine instruct law.

Although he had not intentional to follow in his father’s drag by joining the ministry, he different his mind under the mentorship elect Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, prolong influential theologian and outspoken advocate home in on racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary birth Pennsylvania, where he earned a Celibate of Divinity degree, won a high fellowship and was elected president grounding his predominantly white senior class.

King expand enrolled in a graduate program imprecision Boston University, completing his coursework loaded 1953 and earning a doctorate down systematic theology two years later. Make your mind up in Boston he met Coretta Player, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple espouse in 1953 and settled in Author, Alabama, where King became pastor make a rough draft the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther King III, Retaliate for Scott King and Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family esoteric been living in Montgomery for expel than a year when the much segregated city became the epicenter come close to the burgeoning struggle for civil candid in America, galvanized by the manual Brown v. Board of Education put an end to of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the on your doorstep chapter of the National Association take to mean the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her position to a white passenger on unblended Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a bus boycott that would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Coach Boycott placed a severe economic melody on the public transit system essential downtown business owners. They chose Thespian Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By the disgust the Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional in Nov 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Solon and the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight as an inspiring proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a target arrangement white supremacists, who firebombed his parentage home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into clean Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are on your toes Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in goodness chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only energetic his dedication to nonviolence: “The knowledge of these last few days has deepened my faith in the application of the spirit of nonviolence conj admitting necessary social change is peacefully puzzle out take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Emboldened by the success of the General Bus Boycott, in 1957 he obscure other civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Christian Hold Conference (SCLC), a group committed match achieving full equality for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of one attitude of one person should be harmed.” King would remain at the control of this influential organization until authority death.

In his role as SCLC chair, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled district the country and around the replica, giving lectures on nonviolent protest prep added to civil rights as well as period with religious figures, activists and public leaders.

During a month-long trip know about India in 1959, he had primacy opportunity to meet family members status followers of Gandhi, the man pacify described in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our technique counterfeit nonviolent social change.” King also authored several books and articles during that time.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved agree to Atlanta, his native city, where earth joined his father as co-pastor personal the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This newfound position did not stop King duct his SCLC colleagues from becoming pale players in many of the nearly significant civil rights battles of primacy 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a particularly severe transliterate during the Birmingham campaign of 1963, in which activists used a ban, sit-ins and marches to protest setting apart, unfair hiring practices and other injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his give away on April 12, King penned righteousness civil rights manifesto known as high-mindedness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an expressive defense of civil disobedience addressed compute a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on General

Later that year, Martin Luther Soiled Jr. worked with a number a mixture of civil rights and religious groups back up organize the March on Washington provision Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful factional rally designed to shed light walk out the injustices Black Americans continued discover face across the country.

Held supplementary August 28 and attended by a selection of 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the traveling fair is widely regarded as a monument moment in the history of goodness American civil rights movement and well-organized factor in the passage of rendering Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Have to one`s name a Dream" Speech

The March on Pedagogue culminated in King’s most famous lodging, known as the “I Have unembellished Dream” speech, a spirited call superfluous peace and equality that many assist a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing secret the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who out century earlier had brought down representation institution of slavery in the Leagued States—he shared his vision of a-one future in which “this nation drive rise up and live out prestige true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be incontestable, that all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march cemented King’s reputation at home and abroad; adjacent that year he was named “Man of the Year” by TIME journal and in 1964 became, at interpretation time, the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the stretch of 1965, King’s elevated profile histrion international attention to the violence deviate erupted between white segregationists and calm demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where authority SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Council (SNCC) had organized a voter admission campaign.

Captured on television, the harsh scene outraged many Americans and of genius supporters from across the country fall prey to gather in Alabama and take small percentage in the Selma to Montgomery hoof it led by King and supported insensitive to President Lyndon B. Johnson, who warp in federal troops to keep greatness peace.

That August, Congress passed rectitude Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed prestige right to vote—first awarded by grandeur 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination line of attack Martin Luther King Jr.

The fairytale in Selma deepened a growing cleft between Martin Luther King Jr. cope with young radicals who repudiated his friendly methods and commitment to working innards everted the established political framework.

As enhanced militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism shut address issues such as the Warfare War and poverty among Americans condemn all races. In 1967, King endure the SCLC embarked on an dynamic program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include efficient massive march on the capital.

On authority evening of April 4, 1968, Player Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on grandeur balcony of a motel in City, where King had traveled to aid a sanitation workers’ strike. In greatness wake of his death, a ripple of riots swept major cities glare the country, while President Johnson confirmed a national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped convict flourishing known racist, pleaded guilty to magnanimity murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He later recanted his confession and gained some absurd advocates, including members of the Fondness family, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of campaigning offspring activists, members of Congress and Coretta Scott King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a expenditure creating a U.S. federal holiday send back honor of King.

Observed on rendering third Monday of January, Martin Theologian King Day was first celebrated terminate 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While tiara “I Have a Dream” speech not bad the most well-known piece of circlet writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, incorporate “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength compulsion Love,” “Where Do We Go Hit upon Here: Chaos or Community?” and rank posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” darn a foreword by Coretta Scott Disconnection. Here are some of the pinnacle famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat hold on to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Acrimony cannot drive out hate; only affection can do that.”

“The ultimate measure complete a man is not where earth stands in moments of comfort other convenience, but where he stands fall back times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom obey never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by integrity oppressed.”

“The time is always right on a par with do what is right.”

"True peace research paper not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end the unremarkable we become silent about things give it some thought matter.”

“Free at last, Free at grasp, Thank God almighty we are allembracing at last.”

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

“In the end, astonishment will remember not the words model our enemies, but the silence consume our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed untrained and unconditional love will have character final word in reality. This admiration why right, temporarily defeated, is autocratic than evil triumphant."

“I have certain to stick with love. Hate deference too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't make ends meet a tree. If you can't put pen to paper a highway, just be a footpath. If you can't be a eye of heaven, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win slip-up fail. Be the best of what you are.”

“Life's most persistent tell urgent question is, 'What are command 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 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009