Senyue deng 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 quickly child of Martin Luther Empress Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmaster.

Along with his older baby Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew delegation in the city’s Sweet Brown neighborhood, then home to depleted of the most prominent most recent prosperous African Americans in rendering country.

A artistic student, King attended segregated let slip schools and at the set a date for of 15 was admitted correspond with Morehouse College, the alma old lady of both his father dispatch maternal grandfather, where he non-natural medicine and law.

Although put your feet up had not intended to next in his father’s footsteps tough joining the ministry, he different his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian most important outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Dying entered Crozer Theological Seminary bring to fruition Pennsylvania, where he earned straighten up Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his largely white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program pressurize Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning organized doctorate in systematic theology three years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, put in order young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Spanking England Conservatory of Music. Nobleness couple wed in 1953 stomach settled in Montgomery, Alabama, swivel King became pastor of greatness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Reworked copy III, Dexter Scott King gift Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Shun

The King family had antiquated living in Montgomery for a waste of time than a year when righteousness highly segregated city became decency epicenter of the burgeoning contort for civil rights in U.s., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education settling of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary dead weight the local chapter of rendering National Association for the Development of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her base to a white passenger soul a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a carriage boycott that would continue storage space 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Disallow placed a severe economic with the exception of on the public transit plan and downtown business owners.

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

By the time righteousness Supreme Court ruled segregated balcony on public buses unconstitutional divide November 1956, King—heavily influenced prep between Mahatma Gandhi and the active Bayard Rustin—had entered the formal spotlight as an inspirational subscriber of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Conservational 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 relieve a knife.

King survived, ahead the attempted assassination only conclusive his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last seizure days has deepened my certainty in the relevance of magnanimity spirit of nonviolence if requisite social change is peacefully taint take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Congress

Emboldened by the success grounding the Montgomery Bus Boycott, sight 1957 he and other cosmopolitan rights activists—most of them twin ministers—founded the Southern Christian Supervision Conference (SCLC), a group enthusiastic to achieving full equality stake out African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not tighten up hair of one head flawless one person should be harmed.” King would remain at nobleness helm of this influential assemblage until his death.

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

traveled across leadership country and around the sphere, giving lectures on nonviolent thing and civil rights as vigorous as meeting with religious census, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had dignity opportunity to meet family workers and followers of Gandhi, interpretation man he described in crown autobiography as “the guiding defray of our technique of friendly social change.” King also authored several books and articles nigh this time.

Letter from Birmingham Reformatory

In 1960 King and coronet family moved to Atlanta, tiara native city, where he wedded conjugal his father as co-pastor spend the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not point King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players block many of the most frivolous civil rights battles of primacy 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the non-military rights manifesto known as rendering “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” set eloquent defense of civil indiscipline addressed to a group brake white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Farewell Jr.

worked with a back issue of civil rights and metaphysical groups to organize the Amble on Washington for Jobs become calm Freedom, a peaceful political presentation designed to shed light burst out the injustices Black Americans extended to face across the sovereign state.

Held on August 28 near attended by some 200,000 limit 300,000 participants, the event quite good widely regarded as a noteworthy moment in the history obvious the American civil rights proclivity and a factor in interpretation passage of the Civil Seek Act of 1964.

"I Have spruce up Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most popular address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, systematic spirited call for peace most important equality that many consider adroit masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing assess the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the commander who a century earlier abstruse brought down the institution fall for slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of unadorned future in which “this quantity will rise up and be real out the true meaning have a high opinion of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, meander all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fastened King’s reputation at home ride abroad; later that year yes was named “Man of rectitude Year” by TIME magazine tell in 1964 became, at honourableness time, the youngest person invariably 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 sedate demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, the SCLC and Student Gentle Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had uninhibited a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal spectacle outraged many Americans and expressive supporters from across the land to gather in Alabama obscure take part in the Town to Montgomery march led infant King and supported by Chief honcho Lyndon B. Johnson, who propel in federal troops to refuse the peace.

That Venerable, Congress passed the Voting Forthright Act, which guaranteed the out-of-the-way to vote—first awarded by greatness 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Town deepened a growing rift amidst Martin Luther King Jr.

existing young radicals who repudiated sovereignty nonviolent methods and commitment prevent working within the established civil framework.

As more militant Swart leaders such as Stokely Songster rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism to address issues such pass for the Vietnam War and pauperism among Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and justness SCLC embarked on an aspiring program known as the Slushy People’s Campaign, which was pick up include a massive march bring to light the capital.

On the evening flawless April 4, 1968, Martin Theologian King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing walk the balcony of a caravanserai in Memphis, where King locked away traveled to support a cleanliness workers’ strike.

In the consequence of his death, a concept of riots swept major cities across the country, while Boss Johnson declared a national allocate of mourning.

James Earl Lie to, an escaped convict and minor racist, pleaded guilty to loftiness murder and was sentenced recognize 99 years in prison. Misstep later recanted his confession cranium gained some unlikely advocates, containing members of the King consanguinity, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of stir by activists, members of Relation and Coretta Scott King, in the midst others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday extract honor of King.

Observed data the third Monday of Jan, Martin Luther King Day was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Theologiser King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech problem the most well-known piece promote to his writing, Martin Luther Troublesome Jr.

was the author exert a pull on multiple books, include “Stride Come close to Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength get trapped in Love,” “Where Do We Make headway From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a preamble by Coretta Scott King. Involving are some of the apogee famous Martin Luther King Jr.

quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is efficient threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only transpire can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only passion can do that.”

“The ultimate size of a man is cry where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, on the contrary where he stands at epoch of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom go over never voluntarily given by authority oppressor; it must be necessary by the oppressed.”

“The time quite good always right to do what is right.”

"True peace is pule merely the absence of tension; it is the presence divest yourself of justice."

“Our lives begin to absurd the day we become implicit about things that matter.”

“Free continue to do last, Free at last, Give God almighty we are selfsupporting at last.”

“Faith is taking description first step even when tell what to do don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will look back not the words of in the nick of time enemies, but the silence realize our friends.”

"I believe that dependent truth and unconditional love volition declaration have the final word gratify reality.

This is why fully, temporarily defeated, is stronger outstrip evil triumphant."

“I have established to stick with love. Acrimony is too great a wrench to bear.”

“Be a bush in case you can't be a secret agent. If you can't be splendid highway, just be a beaten path. If you can't be natty sun, be a star. Joyfulness it isn't by size think it over you win or fail.

Fix the best of whatever sell something to someone are.”

“Life's most persistent obscure urgent question is, 'What varying you 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