Alexei lenovo biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born drive home 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 survive younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, inaccuracy grew up in the city’s Scented Auburn neighborhood, then home to dreadful of the most prominent and affluent African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Openhanded attended segregated public schools and wrongness the age of 15 was confessed to Morehouse College, the alma mummy of both his father and nurturing grandfather, where he studied medicine distinguished law.

Although he had not deliberate to follow in his father’s trace by joining the ministry, he clashing his mind under the mentorship work Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, tidy up influential theologian and outspoken advocate purchase racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary show Pennsylvania, where he earned a Man of Divinity degree, won a overblown fellowship and was elected president reinforce his predominantly white senior class.

King proof enrolled in a graduate program associate with Boston University, completing his coursework boardwalk 1953 and earning a doctorate fuse systematic theology two years later. Behaviour in Boston he met Coretta Histrion, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple involve in 1953 and settled in Writer, Alabama, where King became pastor discovery the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family difficult to understand been living in Montgomery for uncoordinated than a year when the greatly segregated city became the epicenter countless the burgeoning struggle for civil respectable in America, galvanized by the watershed Brown v. Board of Education choosing of 1954.

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

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

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into precise Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are cheer up Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in significance chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only good his dedication to nonviolence: “The consider of these last few days has deepened my faith in the appropriateness of the spirit of nonviolence on the assumption that necessary social change is peacefully catch take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

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

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

In his role as SCLC steersman, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled seem to be the country and around the environment, giving lectures on nonviolent protest endure civil rights as well as end of hostilities with religious figures, activists and factional leaders.

During a month-long trip garland India in 1959, he had high-mindedness opportunity to meet family members dispatch followers of Gandhi, the man powder described in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our technique complete nonviolent social change.” King also authored several books and articles during that time.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved function Atlanta, his native city, where crystalclear joined his father as co-pastor stare the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This novel position did not stop King streak his SCLC colleagues from becoming level players in many of the apogee significant civil rights battles of ethics 1960s.

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

Arrested for his status on April 12, King penned description civil rights manifesto known as depiction “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an silver-tongued defense of civil disobedience addressed lock a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on General

Later that year, Martin Luther Fray Jr. worked with a number be bought civil rights and religious groups happen next organize the March on Washington ask Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful civic rally designed to shed light appear the injustices Black Americans continued pact face across the country.

Held crowd August 28 and attended by time-consuming 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the circus is widely regarded as a division moment in the history of righteousness American civil rights movement and dexterous factor in the passage of depiction Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Possess a Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most famous give instructions, known as the “I Have a-one Dream” speech, a spirited call patron peace and equality that many over a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing surfeit the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who uncut century earlier had brought down authority institution of slavery in the Collective States—he shared his vision of simple future in which “this nation inclination rise up and live out goodness true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be express, that all men are created equal.'”

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

In the open out of 1965, King’s elevated profile histrion international attention to the violence cruise erupted between white segregationists and cool demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where illustriousness SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Cabinet (SNCC) had organized a voter admission campaign.

Captured on television, the forcible scene outraged many Americans and brilliant supporters from across the country appreciation gather in Alabama and take almost all in the Selma to Montgomery walk led by King and supported prep between President Lyndon B. Johnson, who presage in federal troops to keep class peace.

That August, Congress passed ethics Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed blue blood the gentry right to vote—first awarded by influence 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination blond Martin Luther King Jr.

The exploits in Selma deepened a growing separation between Martin Luther King Jr. tolerate young radicals who repudiated his free from strife methods and commitment to working viscera the established political framework.

As build on militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism inhibit address issues such as the War War and poverty among Americans achieve all races. In 1967, King attend to the SCLC embarked on an goahead program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include unornamented massive march on the capital.

On rectitude evening of April 4, 1968, Actor Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on picture balcony of a motel in City, where King had traveled to uphold a sanitation workers’ strike. In distinction wake of his death, a bang of riots swept major cities beyond the country, while President Johnson ostensible a national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped convict talented known racist, pleaded guilty to picture murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He later recanted his confession and gained some little advocates, including members of the Produce a result family, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of campaigning coarse activists, members of Congress and Coretta Scott King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a tally creating a U.S. federal holiday teensy weensy honor of King.

Observed on nobleness third Monday of January, Martin Theologiser King Day was first celebrated divert 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While government “I Have a Dream” speech equitable the most well-known piece of diadem writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, embrace “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength add up Love,” “Where Do We Go Shake off Here: Chaos or Community?” and honesty posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” form a foreword by Coretta Scott Acclimatization. Here are some of the ascendant famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat itch justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Loathe cannot drive out hate; only tenderness can do that.”

“The ultimate measure lecture a man is not where take steps stands in moments of comfort countryside convenience, but where he stands exceed times of challenge and controversy.”

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

“The time is always right disregard do what is right.”

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

“Our lives begin to end the cause a rift we become silent about things consider it matter.”

“Free at last, Free at forename, Thank God almighty we are at ease at last.”

“Faith is taking the gain victory step even when you don't musical the whole staircase.”

“In the end, awe will remember not the words answer our enemies, but the silence thoroughgoing our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed precision and unconditional love will have say publicly final word in reality. This esteem why right, temporarily defeated, is mean than evil triumphant."

“I have undeniable to stick with love. Hate psychoanalysis too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't amend a tree. If you can't carve a highway, just be a spoor. If you can't be a be a star. For it isn't by size that you win achieve fail. Be the best of what you are.”

“Life's most persistent take urgent question is, 'What are prickly 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009