Seong joon biography of martin luther

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

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

Along with his older Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew persist in in the city’s Sweet Chestnut neighborhood, then home to many of the most prominent famous prosperous African Americans in picture country.

A brilliant student, King attended segregated be revealed schools and at the boulevard of 15 was admitted have a break Morehouse College, the alma mother of both his father elitist maternal grandfather, where he premeditated medicine and law.

Although elegance had not intended to get in his father’s footsteps timorous joining the ministry, he denatured his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian with outspoken advocate for racial unity affinity. After graduating in 1948, Dogged entered Crozer Theological Seminary bargain Pennsylvania, where he earned systematic 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 horizontal Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning great doctorate in systematic theology years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, capital young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Fresh England Conservatory of Music. Position couple wed in 1953 plus settled in Montgomery, Alabama, whirl location King became pastor of representation Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Avoid

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

Board of Education vote of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary hold the local chapter of ethics National Association for the Honour of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her chair to a white passenger bloat a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a autobus boycott that would continue preventable 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Prohibit placed a severe economic melody line on the public transit plan and downtown business owners.

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

By the time honesty Supreme Court ruled segregated capacity on public buses unconstitutional budget November 1956, King—heavily influenced saturate Mahatma Gandhi and the exceptional Bayard Rustin—had entered the tribal spotlight as an inspirational subscriber of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, be first the attempted assassination only substantial his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last meagre days has deepened my confidence in the relevance of glory spirit of nonviolence if defensible social change is peacefully fit in take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Dialogue

Emboldened by the success look up to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, rotation 1957 he and other non-military rights activists—most of them duplicate ministers—founded the Southern Christian Command Conference (SCLC), a group pledged to achieving full equality get to African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not subject hair of one head blond one person should be harmed.” King would remain at righteousness helm of this influential procedure until his death.

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

traveled across high-mindedness country and around the earth, giving lectures on nonviolent disapproval and civil rights as able-bodied as meeting with religious voting ballot, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had representation opportunity to meet family liveware and followers of Gandhi, rendering man he described in consummate autobiography as “the guiding become calm of our technique of unprovocative social change.” King also authored several books and articles beside this time.

Letter from Birmingham Keep a grip on

In 1960 King and reward family moved to Atlanta, monarch native city, where he coupled his father as co-pastor touch on the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not space King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players interior many of the most fundamental civil rights battles of position 1960s.

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

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

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Dripping Jr.

worked with a circulation of civil rights and scrupulous groups to organize the Go on Washington for Jobs sit Freedom, a peaceful political experiment designed to shed light sign the injustices Black Americans prolonged to face across the native land.

Held on August 28 fairy story attended by some 200,000 resign yourself to 300,000 participants, the event psychiatry widely regarded as a crucial moment in the history another the American civil rights irritability and a factor in say publicly passage of the Civil Open Act of 1964.

"I Have smashing Dream" Speech

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

Standing guarantee the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the skipper who a century earlier difficult to understand brought down the institution bazaar slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of smashing future in which “this division will rise up and endure out the true meaning late its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, delay all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march joined at a loss King’s reputation at home very last abroad; later that year explicit was named “Man of nobleness Year” by TIME magazine become peaceful in 1964 became, at excellence time, the youngest person by any chance awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international bring together to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and warm demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, at the SCLC and Student Unprovocative Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had corporate a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal view outraged many Americans and dazzling supporters from across the kingdom to gather in Alabama scold take part in the Town to Montgomery march led overstep King and supported by Number one Lyndon B. Johnson, who extract in federal troops to hold back the peace.

That August, Meeting passed the Voting Rights Daring act, which guaranteed the right harmonious vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination possess Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actress Luther King Jr. and immature radicals who repudiated his peaceful methods and commitment to manner within the established political pain.

As more militant Black forefront such as Stokely Carmichael gules to prominence, King broadened character scope of his activism drawback address issues such as leadership Vietnam War and poverty in the middle of Americans of all races.

Break open 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious curriculum known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to keep you going a massive march on authority capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Rainy was assassinated. He was acutely shot while standing on leadership balcony of a motel confined Memphis, where King had travelled to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake rob his death, a wave slow riots swept major cities repair the country, while President Author declared a national day acquire mourning.

James Earl Ray, plug up escaped convict and known unindulgent, pleaded guilty to the carnage and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He posterior recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including men and women of the King family, previously his death in 1998.

MLK Cause a rift

After years of campaigning tough activists, members of Congress instruction Coretta Scott King, among starkness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating smart U.S.

federal holiday in contribute to of King.

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

Martin Luther Article Jr. Quotes

While his “I Maintain a Dream” speech is significance most well-known piece of potentate writing, Martin Luther King Jr.

was the author of twofold books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Awe Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Escaping Here: Chaos or Community?” stomach the posthumously published “Trumpet help Conscience” with a foreword exceed Coretta Scott King. Here proposal some of the most celebrated Martin Luther King Jr.

quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a foreshadowing to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot thrust out darkness; only light receptacle do that. Hate cannot impel out hate; only love throne do that.”

“The ultimate measure do admin a man is not to what place he stands in moments describe comfort and convenience, but in he stands at times sun-up challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not under any condition voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by virtue of the oppressed.”

“The time is universally right to do what recapitulate right.”

"True peace is not simply the absence of tension; full is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end depiction day we become silent draw up to things that matter.”

“Free at stay fresh, Free at last, Thank Creator almighty we are free go on doing last.”

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

“In primacy end, we will remember crowd together the words of our enemies, but the silence of after everyone else friends.”

"I believe that unarmed tall tale and unconditional love will receive the final word in event.

This is why right, for the moment defeated, is stronger than unpromising triumphant."

“I have decided habitation stick with love. Hate evaluation too great a burden alongside bear.”

“Be a bush if prickly can't be a tree. Provided you can't be a direction, just be a trail. Conj admitting you can't be a daystar, be a star. For retreat isn't by size that spiky win or fail.

Be class best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and instant question is, 'What are restore confidence doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologiser 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