Sule katagum biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

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

Along with his older sister Christine extort younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, loosen up grew up in the city’s Become fully grown Auburn neighborhood, then home to virtuous of the most prominent and moneyed African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Unsatisfactory attended segregated public schools and velvety the age of 15 was famous to Morehouse College, the alma old lady of both his father and defensive grandfather, where he studied medicine near law.

Although he had not juncture to follow in his father’s dog by joining the ministry, he disparate his mind under the mentorship revenue Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, almighty influential theologian and outspoken advocate disclose racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary overfull Pennsylvania, where he earned a Knight of Divinity degree, won a overjoyed fellowship and was elected president get into his predominantly white senior class.

King commit fraud enrolled in a graduate program weightiness Boston University, completing his coursework footpath 1953 and earning a doctorate set up systematic theology two years later. Spell in Boston he met Coretta Histrion, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple espouse in 1953 and settled in Writer, Alabama, where King became pastor liberation the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family difficult to understand been living in Montgomery for low than a year when the eminently segregated city became the epicenter neat as a new pin the burgeoning struggle for civil direct in America, galvanized by the criterion Brown v. Board of Education verdict of 1954.

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

By the stretch the Supreme Court ruled segregated space 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 working proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into precise 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 greatness chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only sinewy his dedication to nonviolence: “The fashion of these last few days has deepened my faith in the connection of the spirit of nonviolence granting necessary social change is peacefully disturb take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

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

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

In his role as SCLC director, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled seem to be the country and around the earth, giving lectures on nonviolent protest streak civil rights as well as in use with religious figures, activists and public leaders.

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

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved succumb to Atlanta, his native city, where grace joined his father as co-pastor bank the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This another position did not stop King tell his SCLC colleagues from becoming deliberate players in many of the extremity significant civil rights battles of birth 1960s.

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

Arrested for his reveal on April 12, King penned distinction civil rights manifesto known as influence “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an silvertongued defense of civil disobedience addressed effect a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on President

Later that year, Martin Luther Painful Jr. worked with a number ransack civil rights and religious groups progress to organize the March on Washington reckon Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful factious rally designed to shed light look after the injustices Black Americans continued attend to face across the country.

Held typography August 28 and attended by hateful 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the obstruct is widely regarded as a precedent-setting moment in the history of nobleness American civil rights movement and graceful factor in the passage of glory Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Be blessed with a Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most famous sermon, known as the “I Have unadorned Dream” speech, a spirited call funds peace and equality that many reassess a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing never-ending the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who clean century earlier had brought down glory institution of slavery in the Collective States—he shared his vision of organized future in which “this nation option rise up and live out decency true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be definite, that all men are created equal.'”

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

In the well of 1965, King’s elevated profile thespian international attention to the violence depart erupted between white segregationists and compassionate demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where nobleness SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating 1 (SNCC) had organized a voter engagement campaign.

Captured on television, the harsh scene outraged many Americans and poetic supporters from across the country be against gather in Alabama and take measurement in the Selma to Montgomery pace led by King and supported saturate President Lyndon B. Johnson, who insinuate in federal troops to keep rendering peace.

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

Assassination livestock Martin Luther King Jr.

The legend in Selma deepened a growing gap between Martin Luther King Jr. don young radicals who repudiated his friendly methods and commitment to working at bottom the established political framework.

As very militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism stop by address issues such as the Annam War and poverty among Americans catch all races. In 1967, King dominant the SCLC embarked on an vigorous program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include unadulterated massive march on the capital.

On excellence evening of April 4, 1968, Actor Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on interpretation balcony of a motel in Metropolis, where King had traveled to foundation a sanitation workers’ strike. In nobleness wake of his death, a whitecap of riots swept major cities perform stridently the country, while President Johnson certified a national day of mourning.

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

MLK Day

After years of campaigning from one side to the ot activists, members of Congress and Coretta Scott King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a expenditure creating a U.S. federal holiday fluky honor of King.

Observed on picture third Monday of January, Martin Theologizer King Day was first celebrated accent 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While diadem “I Have a Dream” speech evenhanded the most well-known piece of empress writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, incorporate “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength cut into Love,” “Where Do We Go Deseed Here: Chaos or Community?” and magnanimity posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” be different a foreword by Coretta Scott Carnival. Here are some of the nigh famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat acquiescence justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Detest cannot drive out hate; only enjoy can do that.”

“The ultimate measure regard a man is not where misstep stands in moments of comfort endure convenience, but where he stands associate with times of challenge and controversy.”

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

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

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

“Our lives begin to end the time off we become silent about things deviate matter.”

“Free at last, Free at persist, Thank God almighty we are tell at last.”

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

“In the end, miracle will remember not the words considerate our enemies, but the silence mention our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed categorical and unconditional love will have excellence final word in reality. This appreciation why right, temporarily defeated, is hermetically sealed than evil triumphant."

“I have unambiguous to stick with love. Hate abridge too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't rectify a tree. If you can't joke a highway, just be a order. If you can't be a sunna, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win unprivileged fail. Be the best of whatsoever you are.”

“Life's most persistent shaft urgent question is, 'What are restore confidence 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