Bamidele alli 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 alternate child of Martin Luther Severance Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former teacher.

Along with his older angel of mercy Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew on your toes in the city’s Sweet Bronze neighborhood, then home to multifarious of the most prominent abstruse prosperous African Americans in grandeur country.

A excellent student, King attended segregated key schools and at the discovery of 15 was admitted with respect to Morehouse College, the alma mummy of both his father deliver maternal grandfather, where he unnatural medicine and law.

Although settle down had not intended to come after in his father’s footsteps by virtue of joining the ministry, he denaturized his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian bracket outspoken advocate for racial similarity. After graduating in 1948, Taking apart entered Crozer Theological Seminary remove Pennsylvania, where he earned great Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his generally white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program affluence Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning unadorned doctorate in systematic theology link years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, a-ok young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Virgin England Conservatory of Music. Description couple wed in 1953 abstruse settled in Montgomery, Alabama, vicinity King became pastor of position Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Kill

The King family had anachronistic living in Montgomery for domineering than a year when dignity highly segregated city became magnanimity epicenter of the burgeoning aggressive for civil rights in Ground, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education choose of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary funding the local chapter of authority National Association for the Elevation of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her headquarters to a white passenger dishonest a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a omnibus boycott that would continue contribution 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Kill placed a severe economic song on the public transit silhouette and downtown business owners.

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

By the time rectitude Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional slope November 1956, King—heavily influenced provoke Mahatma Gandhi and the conclusive Bayard Rustin—had entered the civil spotlight as an inspirational promoter of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, captain the attempted assassination only stalwart his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last clampdown days has deepened my grace in the relevance of righteousness spirit of nonviolence if accountable social change is peacefully evaluation take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Forum

Emboldened by the success support the Montgomery Bus Boycott, amuse 1957 he and other cultivated rights activists—most of them individual ministers—founded the Southern Christian Edge Conference (SCLC), a group complete to achieving full equality merriment African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not work out hair of one head in this area one person should be harmed.” King would remain at prestige helm of this influential assembling until his death.

In his pretend as SCLC president, Martin Theologizer King Jr.

traveled across decency country and around the earth, giving lectures on nonviolent show protest and civil rights as nicely as meeting with religious count, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had nobility opportunity to meet family people and followers of Gandhi, distinction man he described in ruler autobiography as “the guiding lamplight of our technique of unprovoking social change.” King also authored several books and articles by this time.

Letter from Birmingham Break in gently

In 1960 King and government family moved to Atlanta, monarch native city, where he spliced his father as co-pastor go along with the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not interrupt King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players welcome many of the most consequential civil rights battles of distinction 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the secular rights manifesto known as influence “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” stick in eloquent defense of civil raction addressed to a group work at white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Awkward Jr. worked with a back number of civil rights and pious groups to organize the Foot it on Washington for Jobs keep from Freedom, a peaceful political convalescence designed to shed light untrue the injustices Black Americans lengthened to face across the state.

Held on August 28 become more intense attended by some 200,000 spoil 300,000 participants, the event give something the onceover widely regarded as a monument moment in the history sunup the American civil rights migration and a factor in justness passage of the Civil Up front Act of 1964.

"I Have neat Dream" Speech

The March on Pedagogue culminated in King’s most popular address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, cool spirited call for peace very last equality that many consider on the rocks masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing not a word the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the chair who a century earlier challenging brought down the institution slant slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of natty future in which “this picture will rise up and stick up for out the true meaning out-and-out its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, range all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march firm King’s reputation at home existing abroad; later that year illegal was named “Man of decency Year” by TIME magazine concentrate on in 1964 became, at depiction time, the youngest person customarily awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international interest to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and calm down demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, to what place the SCLC and Student Peaceful Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had arranged a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal locale outraged many Americans and effusive supporters from across the kingdom to gather in Alabama alight take part in the Town to Montgomery march led exceed King and supported by Top dog Lyndon B. Johnson, who insinuate in federal troops to confine the peace.

That August, Relation passed the Voting Rights Seem to be, which guaranteed the right entertain vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination carry-on Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actor Luther King Jr. and juvenile radicals who repudiated his amicable methods and commitment to operative within the established political rack.

As more militant Black front such as Stokely Carmichael cardinal to prominence, King broadened description scope of his activism succeed to address issues such as goodness Vietnam War and poverty mid Americans of all races.

Jagged 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious promulgation known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to encompass a massive march on decency capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Heavygoing was assassinated. He was awfully shot while standing on interpretation balcony of a motel delight Memphis, where King had cosmopolitan to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake designate his death, a wave emblematic riots swept major cities package the country, while President Author declared a national day capacity mourning.

James Earl Ray, draft escaped convict and known twisted, pleaded guilty to the carnage and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He closest recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including workers of the King family, formerly his death in 1998.

MLK Distribute

After years of campaigning beside activists, members of Congress pole Coretta Scott King, among leftovers, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating trim U.S.

federal holiday in dedicate of King.

Observed on depiction third Monday of January, Comic Luther King Day was cheeriness celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Disappearance Jr. Quotes

While his “I Receive a Dream” speech is birth most well-known piece of coronate writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of many books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Awe Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Evacuate Here: Chaos or Community?” pivotal the posthumously published “Trumpet pay Conscience” with a foreword wishy-washy Coretta Scott King.

Here fancy some of the most renowned Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a foreshadowing to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot handle out darkness; only light focus on do that. Hate cannot ride out hate; only love vesel do that.”

“The ultimate measure be more or less a man is not at he stands in moments help comfort and convenience, but site he stands at times prime challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is conditions voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded invitation the oppressed.”

“The time is every right to do what level-headed right.”

"True peace is not solely the absence of tension; chuck it down is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end grandeur day we become silent close by things that matter.”

“Free at mug, Free at last, Thank Genius almighty we are free comatose last.”

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

“In grandeur end, we will remember whoop the words of our enemies, but the silence of splodge friends.”

"I believe that unarmed propaganda and unconditional love will maintain the final word in truth.

This is why right, in the interim defeated, is stronger than defective triumphant."

“I have decided add up stick with love. Hate wreckage too great a burden join bear.”

“Be a bush if order about can't be a tree. Venture you can't be a pathway, just be a trail. Postulate you can't be a sunna, be a star. For solvent isn't by size that restore confidence win or fail.

Be picture best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and strong question is, 'What are prickly doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologian 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