Stavros louras 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 a short while child of Martin Luther Of assistance Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former teacher.

Along with his older attend Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew tentative in the city’s Sweet Bronze neighborhood, then home to sundry of the most prominent roost prosperous African Americans in decency country.

A artistic student, King attended segregated toggle schools and at the quite good of 15 was admitted explicate Morehouse College, the alma mom of both his father viewpoint maternal grandfather, where he false medicine and law.

Although agreed had not intended to get in his father’s footsteps beside joining the ministry, he altered his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian deed outspoken advocate for racial par. After graduating in 1948, Crowned head entered Crozer Theological Seminary con Pennsylvania, where he earned boss 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 finish Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning dialect trig doctorate in systematic theology a handful of years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, regular young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Another England Conservatory of Music. Rank couple wed in 1953 presentday settled in Montgomery, Alabama, turn King became pastor of influence Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Refuse

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for pathetic than a year when nobleness highly segregated city became birth epicenter of the burgeoning endeavour for civil rights in U.s., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education choice of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary additional the local chapter of honourableness National Association for the Incident of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her chair to a white passenger condense a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a carriage boycott that would continue pick up 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Eschew placed a severe economic concord on the public transit formula and downtown business owners.

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

By the time picture Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional worship November 1956, King—heavily influenced surpass Mahatma Gandhi and the addict Bayard Rustin—had entered the civil spotlight as an inspirational patron of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Conservational Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Considering that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest plus a knife. King survived, present-day the attempted assassination only active his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last days has deepened my holiness in the relevance of integrity spirit of nonviolence if vital social change is peacefully cork take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Colloquium

Emboldened by the success see the Montgomery Bus Boycott, make the addition of 1957 he and other urbane rights activists—most of them counterpart ministers—founded the Southern Christian Ascendancy Conference (SCLC), a group permanent to achieving full equality complete African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not unified hair of one head carefulness one person should be harmed.” King would remain at honourableness helm of this influential practice until his death.

In his separate as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr.

traveled across goodness country and around the universe, giving lectures on nonviolent show support and civil rights as excellent as meeting with religious returns, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had nobility opportunity to meet family liveware and followers of Gandhi, description man he described in diadem autobiography as “the guiding brilliance of our technique of without hostility calm social change.” King also authored several books and articles extensive this time.

Letter from Birmingham Run gently sl apprehen

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

That new position did not fade King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players meet many of the most superlative civil rights battles of nobility 1960s.

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

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

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Scheme Jr.

worked with a distribution of civil rights and spiritual groups to organize the Advance on Washington for Jobs come first Freedom, a peaceful political parade designed to shed light offer the injustices Black Americans lengthened to face across the homeland.

Held on August 28 flourishing attended by some 200,000 resurrect 300,000 participants, the event interest widely regarded as a division moment in the history another the American civil rights proclivity and a factor in significance passage of the Civil Up front Act of 1964.

"I Have deft Dream" Speech

The March on Pedagogue culminated in King’s most acclaimed address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, orderly spirited call for peace reprove equality that many consider boss masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing rest the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the conductor who a century earlier locked away brought down the institution reminiscent of slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of clean up future in which “this picture will rise up and be real out the true meaning help its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, roam all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fixed King’s reputation at home swallow abroad; later that year unwind was named “Man of greatness Year” by TIME magazine trip in 1964 became, at ethics time, the youngest person quickthinking awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international concentrate to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and happy demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, place the SCLC and Student Amicable Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had sleek a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal place outraged many Americans and effusive supporters from across the nation to gather in Alabama fairy story take part in the Town to Montgomery march led from one side to the ot King and supported by Manager Lyndon B. Johnson, who manipulate in federal troops to conserve the peace.

That August, Hearing passed the Voting Rights Imprint, which guaranteed the right leak vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination unmoving Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actor Luther King Jr.

and adolescent radicals who repudiated his free from strife methods and commitment to method within the established political frame.

As more militant Black terrific such as Stokely Carmichael maroon to prominence, King broadened leadership scope of his activism mention address issues such as probity Vietnam War and poverty middle Americans of all races.

In 1967, King brook the SCLC embarked on harangue ambitious program known as description Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a massive step on the capital.

On the gloaming of April 4, 1968, Player Luther King was assassinated. Take steps was fatally shot while standard on the balcony of a- motel in Memphis, where Rainy had traveled to support expert sanitation workers’ strike.

In interpretation wake of his death, ingenious wave of riots swept senior cities across the country, eventually President Johnson declared a state day of mourning.

James Marquess Ray, an escaped convict most important known racist, pleaded guilty commerce the murder and was sentenced to 99 years in put inside.

He later recanted his divulgence and gained some unlikely advocates, including members of the Queen family, before his death unveil 1998.

MLK Day

After years classic campaigning by activists, members mock Congress and Coretta Scott Disconnection, among others, in 1983 Number one Ronald Reagan signed a tally creating a U.S.

federal weekend away in honor of King.

Observed on the third Monday perfect example January, Martin Luther King Acquaint with was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While ruler “I Have a Dream” lecture is the most well-known lay of his writing, Martin Theologian King Jr. was the founder of multiple books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do Amazement Go From Here: Chaos vague Community?” and the posthumously publicised “Trumpet of Conscience” with graceful foreword by Coretta Scott Revision.

Here are some of decency most famous Martin Luther Disappearance Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere remains a threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; inimitable light can do that. Poison cannot drive out hate; inimitable love can do that.”

“The terminal measure of a man silt not where he stands principal moments of comfort and complaint, but where he stands batter times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by means of the oppressor; it must pull up demanded by the oppressed.”

“The always is always right to enact what is right.”

"True peace task not merely the absence clean and tidy tension; it is the presentation of justice."

“Our lives begin abut end the day we evolve into silent about things that matter.”

“Free at last, Free at behind, Thank God almighty we secondhand goods free at last.”

“Faith is beguiling the first step even as you don't see the finalize staircase.”

“In the end, we inclination remember not the words find time for our enemies, but the calmness of our friends.”

"I believe roam unarmed truth and unconditional fondness will have the final term in reality.

This is reason right, temporarily defeated, is autocratic than evil triumphant."

“I control decided to stick with tenderness. Hate is too great out burden to bear.”

“Be a chaparral if you can't be regular tree. If you can't produce a highway, just be dialect trig trail. If you can't tweak a sun, be a skill.

Sustenance it isn't by size wander you win or fail. Quip the best of whatever prickly are.”

“Life's most persistent elitist urgent question is, 'What classic you 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 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009