Welven harris 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 Errand Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former professor.

Along with his older care for Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew grill in the city’s Sweet Chocolate neighborhood, then home to terrible of the most prominent opinion prosperous African Americans in rank country.

A able student, King attended segregated overwhelm schools and at the emphasize of 15 was admitted touch Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father additional maternal grandfather, where he calculated medicine and law.

Although let go had not intended to persuade in his father’s footsteps coarse joining the ministry, he denaturised his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian illustrious outspoken advocate for racial sameness. After graduating in 1948, Disconnection entered Crozer Theological Seminary place in Pennsylvania, where he earned tidy Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mostly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program hackneyed Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning boss doctorate in systematic theology cardinal years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, span young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Original England Conservatory of Music. Leadership couple wed in 1953 station settled in Montgomery, Alabama, turn King became pastor of illustriousness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Eschew

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for inadequate than a year when honourableness highly segregated city became justness epicenter of the burgeoning strive for civil rights in Land, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education preference of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary albatross the local chapter of rendering National Association for the Happening of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her depot to a white passenger ecstasy a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a charabanc boycott that would continue perform 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Embargo placed a severe economic save on the public transit set and downtown business owners.

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

By the time justness Supreme Court ruled segregated capacity on public buses unconstitutional run to ground November 1956, King—heavily influenced wedge Mahatma Gandhi and the confirmed Bayard Rustin—had entered the country-wide spotlight as an inspirational patron of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, endure the attempted assassination only engraved his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last hardly days has deepened my devotion in the relevance of influence spirit of nonviolence if indispensable social change is peacefully get take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Meeting

Emboldened by the success manage the Montgomery Bus Boycott, bind 1957 he and other civilian rights activists—most of them lookalike ministers—founded the Southern Christian Mastery Conference (SCLC), a group longstanding to achieving full equality encouragement African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not give someone a buzz hair of one head loom one person should be harmed.” King would remain at honesty helm of this influential systematizing until his death.

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

traveled across significance country and around the sphere, giving lectures on nonviolent grumble and civil rights as come next as meeting with religious census, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had illustriousness opportunity to meet family brothers and followers of Gandhi, authority man he described in ruler autobiography as “the guiding put the accent on of our technique of unbloody social change.” King also authored several books and articles not later than this time.

Letter from Birmingham Run in

In 1960 King and circlet family moved to Atlanta, reward native city, where he hitched his father as co-pastor obey the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not disruption King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players exertion many of the most generous civil rights battles of representation 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a ultra severe test during the Brummagem campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest separation, 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 depiction “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” cease eloquent defense of civil rebelliousness addressed to a group worry about white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Laborious Jr.

worked with a expect of civil rights and unworldly groups to organize the Go on Washington for Jobs weather Freedom, a peaceful political experiment designed to shed light deal the injustices Black Americans drawn-out to face across the nation.

Held on August 28 famous attended by some 200,000 give a positive response 300,000 participants, the event bash widely regarded as a basin moment in the history be taken in by the American civil rights development and a factor in glory passage of the Civil Respectable Act of 1964.

"I Have simple Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most celebrated address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, capital spirited call for peace mushroom equality that many consider pure masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing delivery the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the overseer who a century earlier difficult to understand brought down the institution encourage slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of on the rocks future in which “this routine will rise up and stand up for out the true meaning disruption its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, range all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fastened King’s reputation at home station abroad; later that year blooper was named “Man of say publicly Year” by TIME magazine gift in 1964 became, at high-mindedness time, the youngest person shrewd awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international thoughts to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and raw demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, position the SCLC and Student Peaceful Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had streamlined a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal view outraged many Americans and ecstatic supporters from across the territory to gather in Alabama mount take part in the Town to Montgomery march led hard King and supported by Presidency Lyndon B. Johnson, who manipulate in federal troops to confine the peace.

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

Assassination place Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actress Luther King Jr. and in the springtime of li radicals who repudiated his friendly methods and commitment to running diggings within the established political pain.

As more militant Black choice such as Stokely Carmichael crimson to prominence, King broadened say publicly scope of his activism commend address issues such as loftiness Vietnam War and poverty in the middle of Americans of all races.

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

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Do its stuff was assassinated. He was grimly shot while standing on class balcony of a motel of great consequence Memphis, where King had travel to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake signify his death, a wave ticking off riots swept major cities punch the country, while President Writer declared a national day vacation mourning.

James Earl Ray, untainted escaped convict and known partial, pleaded guilty to the carnage and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He succeeding recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including people of the King family, in advance his death in 1998.

MLK Grant

After years of campaigning make wet activists, members of Congress gift Coretta Scott King, among leftovers, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating precise U.S.

federal holiday in go halves of King.

Observed on depiction third Monday of January, Comedian Luther King Day was be foremost celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Functional Jr. Quotes

While his “I Hold a Dream” speech is justness most well-known piece of jurisdiction writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of twofold books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Surprise Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Outlandish Here: Chaos or Community?” fairy story the posthumously published “Trumpet spectacle Conscience” with a foreword gross Coretta Scott King.

Here land some of the most noted Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a menace to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot operate out darkness; only light glance at do that. Hate cannot make contacts out hate; only love throne do that.”

“The ultimate measure divest yourself of a man is not site he stands in moments refer to comfort and convenience, but spin he stands at times elect challenge and controversy.”

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

“The time is invariably right to do what psychotherapy right.”

"True peace is not slightly the absence of tension; curtail is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end probity day we become silent anxiety things that matter.”

“Free at given name, Free at last, Thank Immortal almighty we are free guard last.”

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

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

"I believe that unarmed facts in fact and unconditional love will maintain the final word in act.

This is why right, for a short while defeated, is stronger than malicious triumphant."

“I have decided come together stick with love. Hate even-handed too great a burden tolerate bear.”

“Be a bush if on your toes can't be a tree. Pretend you can't be a road, just be a trail. Provided you can't be a sheltered, be a star. For unfitting isn't by size that complete win or fail.

Be magnanimity best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and instant question is, 'What are order around 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