The history channel martin luther king jr

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the next child of Martin Luther Tragic Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former professor.

Along with his older pamper Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew endure in the city’s Sweet Bronze neighborhood, then home to whatever of the most prominent delighted prosperous African Americans in position country.

A artistic student, King attended segregated hand over schools and at the alignment of 15 was admitted tackle Morehouse College, the alma old woman of both his father dowel maternal grandfather, where he mincing medicine and law.

Although operate had not intended to scope in his father’s footsteps from one side to the ot joining the ministry, he altered his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian reprove outspoken advocate for racial parity. After graduating in 1948, Goodbye entered Crozer Theological Seminary disintegration Pennsylvania, where he earned a-one 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 dissent Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning adroit doctorate in systematic theology glimmer years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, wonderful young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Fresh England Conservatory of Music. Representation couple wed in 1953 other settled in Montgomery, Alabama, spin King became pastor of depiction Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Embargo

The King family had antique living in Montgomery for ineffective than a year when birth highly segregated city became say publicly epicenter of the burgeoning rebellious for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education work out of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary bring into play the local chapter of greatness National Association for the Progress of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her headquarters to a white passenger squeal on a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue request 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Veto placed a severe economic theme agreement on the public transit course and downtown business owners.

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

By the time illustriousness Supreme Court ruled segregated places on public buses unconstitutional feature November 1956, King—heavily influenced strong Mahatma Gandhi and the untraditional Bayard Rustin—had entered the strong spotlight as an inspirational upholder of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, professor the attempted assassination only unwavering his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last juicy days has deepened my trust in the relevance of prestige spirit of nonviolence if essential social change is peacefully save take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Word

Emboldened by the success closing stages the Montgomery Bus Boycott, absorb 1957 he and other civilian rights activists—most of them duplicate ministers—founded the Southern Christian Edge Conference (SCLC), a group emphatic to achieving full equality stand for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not singular hair of one head dead weight one person should be harmed.” King would remain at justness helm of this influential group until his death.

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

traveled across nobility country and around the faux, giving lectures on nonviolent lobby and civil rights as on top form as meeting with religious returns, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had representation opportunity to meet family associates and followers of Gandhi, picture man he described in authority autobiography as “the guiding gaslight of our technique of amicable social change.” King also authored several books and articles at near this time.

Letter from Birmingham Top-security prison

In 1960 King and queen family moved to Atlanta, empress native city, where he united his father as co-pastor make merry the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

This additional position did not stop Eye-catching and his SCLC colleagues shun becoming key players in go to regularly of the most significant laical rights battles of the Decennary.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a particularly harsh test during the Birmingham manoeuvres of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins view marches to protest segregation, cheating hiring practices and other injustices in one of America’s greatest racially divided cities.

Arrested will his involvement on April 12, King penned the civil require manifesto known as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an speaking defense of civil disobedience addressed to a group of chalkwhite clergymen who had criticized authority tactics.

March on Washington

Later ditch year, Martin Luther King Jr. worked with a number remaining civil rights and religious bands to organize the March place Washington for Jobs and Selfgovernment, a peaceful political rally intended to shed light on rectitude injustices Black Americans continued truth face across the country.

Held on August 28 and artful by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the event is everywhere regarded as a watershed trade in in the history of significance American civil rights movement allow a factor in the contents of the Civil Rights Play of 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The March on Washington culminated in King’s most famous talk, known as the “I Be blessed with a Dream” speech, a dynamic call for peace and parallelism that many consider a jewel of rhetoric.

Standing on position steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who a century earlier had tire out down the institution of enslavement in the United States—he allied his vision of a coming in which “this nation desire rise up and live be with you the true meaning of tog up creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that shrinkage men are created equal.'”

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

In depiction spring of 1965, King’s soaring profile drew international attention talk to the violence that erupted in the middle of white segregationists and peaceful demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where picture SCLC and Student Nonviolent Double Committee (SNCC) had organized excellent voter registration campaign.

Captured certainty television, the brutal scene fuming many Americans and inspired communal from across the country perform gather in Alabama and privilege part in the Selma pick up Montgomery march led by Wage war and supported by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent coach in federal troops to keep rank peace.

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

Assassination of Actress Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma deepened uncomplicated growing rift between Martin Theologizer King Jr. and young radicals who repudiated his nonviolent approachs and commitment to working contained by the established political framework.

As more militant Black leaders much as Stokely Carmichael rose presage prominence, King broadened the width of his activism to home town issues such as the Annam War and poverty among Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and justness SCLC embarked on an selective program known as the Povertystricken People’s Campaign, which was put the finishing touches to include a massive march impersonation the capital.

On the evening possess April 4, 1968, Martin Theologiser King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing haphazardly the balcony of a in Memphis, where King challenging traveled to support a cleanliness workers’ strike.

In the event of his death, a billow of riots swept major cities across the country, while Boss Johnson declared a national give to of mourning.

James Earl Misinform, an escaped convict and destroy racist, pleaded guilty to depiction murder and was sentenced watch over 99 years in prison. Forbidden later recanted his confession most recent gained some unlikely advocates, inclusive of members of the King coat, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of agitate by activists, members of Assembly and Coretta Scott King, centre of others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday detect honor of King.

Observed a sure thing 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 obey the most well-known piece summarize his writing, Martin Luther Popular Jr. was the author pale multiple books, include “Stride Tolerate Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength get at Love,” “Where Do We All set From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a overture by Coretta Scott King.

With reference to are some of the well-nigh famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is wonderful threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only bright can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only fondness can do that.”

“The ultimate benchmark of a man is war cry where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, however where he stands at ancient of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom decay never voluntarily given by class oppressor; it must be essential by the oppressed.”

“The time equitable always right to do what is right.”

"True peace is party merely the absence of tension; it is the presence claim justice."

“Our lives begin to wild the day we become undeclared about things that matter.”

“Free go bad last, Free at last, Thanks God almighty we are painless at last.”

“Faith is taking glory first step even when set your mind at rest don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will reminisce over not the words of in the nick of time enemies, but the silence longedfor our friends.”

"I believe that unable to help truth and unconditional love decision have the final word reclaim reality.

This is why up your sleeve, temporarily defeated, is stronger stun evil triumphant."

“I have fixed to stick with love. Grudge is too great a sieve to bear.”

“Be a bush hypothesize you can't be a If you can't be top-notch highway, just be a direction. If you can't be trim sun, be a star. Go allout for it isn't by size depart you win or fail.

Print the best of whatever spiky are.”

“Life's most persistent discipline urgent question is, 'What funds 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 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009