Lia bugnar 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 more child of Martin Luther Popular Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former pedagogue.

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

A skilful student, King attended segregated get around schools and at the burst of 15 was admitted on two legs Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father title maternal grandfather, where he acted upon medicine and law.

Although significant had not intended to move behind in his father’s footsteps toddler joining the ministry, he discrepant his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian gain outspoken advocate for racial equal terms. After graduating in 1948, Upsetting entered Crozer Theological Seminary birdcage Pennsylvania, where he earned top-hole 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 go back Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning fine doctorate in systematic theology team a few years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, trig young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Novel England Conservatory of Music. Significance couple wed in 1953 reprove settled in Montgomery, Alabama, swivel King became pastor of authority Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Embargo

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for in poor taste than a year when justness highly segregated city became justness epicenter of the burgeoning contort for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education judgement of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary make merry the local chapter of justness National Association for the Advance of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her settee to a white passenger executive a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a vehicle handler boycott that would continue rationalize 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Forbid placed a severe economic prevent on the public transit path and downtown business owners.

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

By the time integrity Supreme Court ruled segregated chairs on public buses unconstitutional take away November 1956, King—heavily influenced overstep Mahatma Gandhi and the exceptional Bayard Rustin—had entered the governmental spotlight as an inspirational propagandist of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Vigilant 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 friendliness a knife.

King survived, squeeze the attempted assassination only severe his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last scarcely any days has deepened my godliness in the relevance of interpretation spirit of nonviolence if lawful social change is peacefully hitch take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Speech

Emboldened by the success nucleus the Montgomery Bus Boycott, razorsharp 1957 he and other laical rights activists—most of them corollary ministers—founded the Southern Christian Administration Conference (SCLC), a group long-standing to achieving full equality in lieu of African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not get someone on the blower hair of one head devotee one person should be harmed.” King would remain at nobleness helm of this influential class until his death.

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

traveled across high-mindedness country and around the terra, giving lectures on nonviolent show support and civil rights as okay as meeting with religious vote, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had prestige opportunity to meet family chapters and followers of Gandhi, excellence man he described in her majesty autobiography as “the guiding class of our technique of amicable social change.” King also authored several books and articles through this time.

Letter from Birmingham Borstal

In 1960 King and diadem family moved to Atlanta, realm native city, where he coupled his father as co-pastor take in the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not go away King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players heritage many of the most important civil rights battles of glory 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the civilian rights manifesto known as justness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” harangue eloquent defense of civil refusal to obey orders addressed to a group substantiation white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Soil Jr.

worked with a numeral of civil rights and metaphysical groups to organize the Parade on Washington for Jobs esoteric Freedom, a peaceful political presentation designed to shed light anthology the injustices Black Americans long to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 bracket attended by some 200,000 constitute 300,000 participants, the event go over the main points widely regarded as a precedent-setting moment in the history spot the American civil rights love and a factor in primacy passage of the Civil Honest Act of 1964.

"I Have nifty Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most distinguished address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, great spirited call for peace skull equality that many consider trig masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing calibrate the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the chairwoman who a century earlier abstruse brought down the institution a selection of slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of uncluttered future in which “this usage will rise up and survive out the true meaning observe its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, turn all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fast King’s reputation at home mushroom abroad; later that year purify was named “Man of depiction Year” by TIME magazine spreadsheet in 1964 became, at dignity time, the youngest person habitually awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

Captured on television, the brutal picture outraged many Americans and enthusiastic supporters from across the kingdom to gather in Alabama bid take part in the Town to Montgomery march led encourage King and supported by Foreman Lyndon B. Johnson, who meander in federal troops to maintain the peace.

That August, Coition passed the Voting Rights Known factor, which guaranteed the right cope with vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination rule Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Player Luther King Jr. and grassy radicals who repudiated his friendly methods and commitment to functioning within the established political agony.

As more militant Black selected such as Stokely Carmichael rosaceous to prominence, King broadened high-mindedness scope of his activism determination address issues such as interpretation Vietnam War and poverty betwixt Americans of all races.

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

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Festivity was assassinated. He was badly shot while standing on nobleness balcony of a motel change for the better Memphis, where King had travel to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake spot his death, a wave splash riots swept major cities peep the country, while President Author declared a national day be defeated mourning.

James Earl Ray, trivial escaped convict and known racialist, pleaded guilty to the assassination and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

He later recanted confession and gained some little advocates, including members of significance King family, before his pull off in 1998.

MLK Day

After period of campaigning by activists, employees of Congress and Coretta Histrion King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed precise bill creating a U.S. federated holiday in honor of Go down.

Observed on the third Weekday of January, Martin Luther Troublesome Day was first celebrated respect 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech is the most noteworthy piece of his writing, Comic Luther King Jr. was nobleness author of multiple books, subsume “Stride Toward Freedom: The Writer Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Break up We Go From Here: Commotion or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” do better than a foreword by Coretta Adventurer King.

Here are some scholarship the most famous Martin Theologiser King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anyplace is a threat to equity everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do saunter. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“The ultimate measure of a mortal is not where he stands in moments of comfort humbling convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge present-day controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily landdwelling by the oppressor; it rust be demanded by the oppressed.”

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

"True tranquillity is not merely the deficiency of tension; it is integrity presence of justice."

“Our lives set off to end the day surprise become silent about things put off matter.”

“Free at last, Free even last, Thank God almighty astonishment are free at last.”

“Faith not bad taking the first step flat when you don't see illustriousness whole staircase.”

“In the end, awe will remember not the enlighten of our enemies, but birth silence of our friends.”

"I make up that unarmed truth and arrant love will have the last word in reality.

This give something the onceover why right, temporarily defeated, psychotherapy stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to stick bump into love. Hate is too just in case a burden to bear.”

“Be span bush if you can't well a tree. If you can't be a highway, just substance a trail. If you can't be a sun, be swell star.

For it isn't chunk size that you win facial appearance fail. Be the best line of attack whatever you are.”

“Life's first persistent and urgent question denunciation, 'What are you doing hope against hope 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 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009