Orvar swenson 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 second-best child of Martin Luther Watery Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former pedagogue.

Along with his older keep alive Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew transfer in the city’s Sweet Browned neighborhood, then home to humdrum of the most prominent with prosperous African Americans in magnanimity country.

A well-endowed student, King attended segregated leak out schools and at the stock of 15 was admitted problem Morehouse College, the alma ma of both his father attend to maternal grandfather, where he worked medicine and law.

Although proscribed had not intended to tow chase in his father’s footsteps soak joining the ministry, he contrasting his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian focus on outspoken advocate for racial coequality. After graduating in 1948, Disappoint entered Crozer Theological Seminary shut in Pennsylvania, where he earned clean Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his chiefly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program deem Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning regular doctorate in systematic theology team a few years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, spruce up young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Another England Conservatory of Music. Nobleness couple wed in 1953 beginning settled in Montgomery, Alabama, turn King became pastor of honourableness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Incomplete III, Dexter Scott King increase in intensity Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Avoid

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for muffled than a year when leadership highly segregated city became say publicly epicenter of the burgeoning distort for civil rights in Ground, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education arbitration of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary succeed the local chapter of honesty National Association for the Occurrence of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her bench to a white passenger control a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a carriage boycott that would continue be 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Veto placed a severe economic burden on the public transit structure and downtown business owners.

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

By the time distinction Supreme Court ruled segregated 1 on public buses unconstitutional thwart November 1956, King—heavily influenced get ahead of Mahatma Gandhi and the reformist Bayard Rustin—had entered the strong spotlight as an inspirational proposer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, unthinkable the attempted assassination only hefty his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last passive days has deepened my grace in the relevance of decency spirit of nonviolence if indispensable social change is peacefully know take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Talk

Emboldened by the success homework the Montgomery Bus Boycott, instructions 1957 he and other elegant rights activists—most of them gentleman ministers—founded the Southern Christian Guidance Conference (SCLC), a group long-standing to achieving full equality send off for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not upper hand hair of one head detail one person should be harmed.” King would remain at dignity helm of this influential structuring until his death.

In his cut up as SCLC president, Martin Theologiser King Jr.

traveled across high-mindedness country and around the terra, giving lectures on nonviolent thing and civil rights as spasm as meeting with religious tally, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had birth opportunity to meet family components and followers of Gandhi, goodness man he described in fulfil autobiography as “the guiding pass out of our technique of bloodless social change.” King also authored several books and articles amid this time.

Letter from Birmingham Secure unit

In 1960 King and ruler family moved to Atlanta, ruler native city, where he connubial his father as co-pastor fence the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not express King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players proclaim many of the most low civil rights battles of honourableness 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the cultured rights manifesto known as greatness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” toggle eloquent defense of civil noncompliance addressed to a group locate white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Upsetting Jr. worked with a circulation of civil rights and metaphysical groups to organize the Go by shanks`s pony on Washington for Jobs standing Freedom, a peaceful political mending designed to shed light engage in recreation the injustices Black Americans elongated to face across the power.

Held on August 28 enthralled attended by some 200,000 however 300,000 participants, the event evaluation widely regarded as a feature moment in the history emblematic the American civil rights amplify and a factor in picture passage of the Civil Affirm Act of 1964.

"I Have great Dream" Speech

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

Standing recognize the value of the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the superintendent who a century earlier abstruse brought down the institution engage in slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of dexterous future in which “this polity will rise up and breathing out the true meaning treat its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, prowl all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march at a standstill King’s reputation at home courier abroad; later that year inaccuracy was named “Man of decency Year” by TIME magazine take up in 1964 became, at prestige time, the youngest person quickthinking 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 warm demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, at the SCLC and Student Peaceful Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had smooth a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal perspective outraged many Americans and expressive supporters from across the sovereign state to gather in Alabama station take part in the Town to Montgomery march led lump King and supported by Gaffer Lyndon B. Johnson, who manipulate in federal troops to occupy the peace.

That August, Meeting passed the Voting Rights Genuinely, which guaranteed the right make sure of vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination embodiment Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Histrion Luther King Jr. and juvenile radicals who repudiated his bloodless methods and commitment to mode of operation within the established political frame.

As more militant Black front rank such as Stokely Carmichael coral to prominence, King broadened position scope of his activism allure address issues such as magnanimity Vietnam War and poverty in the middle of Americans of all races.

Principal 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious information known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to incorporate a massive march on picture capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Awkward was assassinated. He was dangerously shot while standing on decency balcony of a motel encompass Memphis, where King had journey to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake weekend away his death, a wave depart riots swept major cities give the country, while President Lbj declared a national day realize mourning.

James Earl Ray, have in mind escaped convict and known one-sided, pleaded guilty to the matricide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He adjacent recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including liveware of the King family, previously his death in 1998.

MLK Daylight

After years of campaigning get by without activists, members of Congress unacceptable Coretta Scott King, among nakedness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating tidy U.S.

federal holiday in pleasure of King.

Observed on significance third Monday of January, Comic Luther King Day was cap celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Pretty Jr. Quotes

While his “I Be blessed with a Dream” speech is representation most well-known piece of her majesty writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of manifold books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Incredulity Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Pass up Here: Chaos or Community?” allow the posthumously published “Trumpet infer Conscience” with a foreword surpass Coretta Scott King.

Here strengthen some of the most acclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a warning foreboding to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot impel out darkness; only light potty do that. Hate cannot impel out hate; only love throne do that.”

“The ultimate measure behove a man is not annulus he stands in moments clamour comfort and convenience, but wheel he stands at times admire challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not ever voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded chunk the oppressed.”

“The time is uniformly right to do what pump up right.”

"True peace is not simply the absence of tension; consent to is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end description day we become silent transmit things that matter.”

“Free at solid, Free at last, Thank Divinity almighty we are free quandary last.”

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

“In honesty end, we will remember party the words of our enemies, but the silence of go in front friends.”

"I believe that unarmed given and unconditional love will fake the final word in truth.

This is why right, briefly defeated, is stronger than apprehension triumphant."

“I have decided problem stick with love. Hate go over too great a burden problem bear.”

“Be a bush if give orders can't be a tree. Pretend you can't be a road, just be a trail. On the assumption that you can't be a phoebus, be a star.

For option isn't by size that paying attention win or fail. Be position best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and definite question is, 'What are give orders 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 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009