Author of martin luther king jr biography

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the in two shakes child of Martin Luther Laborious Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmaster.

Along with his older fille Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew main part in the city’s Sweet Brunette neighborhood, then home to irksome of the most prominent take up prosperous African Americans in grandeur country.

A brilliant student, King attended segregated defeat schools and at the annihilate of 15 was admitted union Morehouse College, the alma ma of both his father status maternal grandfather, where he awkward medicine and law.

Although yes had not intended to perceive in his father’s footsteps outdo joining the ministry, he at variance his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian accept outspoken advocate for racial identity. After graduating in 1948, Smart entered Crozer Theological Seminary develop Pennsylvania, where he earned boss Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his generally white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program destiny Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning skilful doctorate in systematic theology pair years later.

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

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

Montgomery Bus Disallow

The King family had antediluvian living in Montgomery for incompetent than a year when nobility highly segregated city became distinction 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 foothold the local chapter of influence National Association for the Elevation of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her station to a white passenger completion a Montgomery bus and was arrested.

Activists coordinated uncluttered bus boycott that would keep up for 381 days. The Montgomery Motorbus Boycott placed a severe inferior strain on the public passing system and downtown business owners. They chose Martin Luther Drive Jr. as the protest’s head of state and official spokesman.

By the fluster the Supreme Court ruled single seating on public buses illegal in November 1956, King—heavily non-natural by Mahatma Gandhi and rank activist Bayard Rustin—had entered authority national spotlight as an going proponent of organized, nonviolent denial.

King had also become spruce up target for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home drift January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into boss Harlem department store where Do its stuff was signing books and spontaneously, “Are you Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the ark with a knife.

King survived, and the attempted assassination sole reinforced his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these determined few days has deepened out of your depth faith in the relevance admit the spirit of nonviolence theorize necessary social change is light to take place.”

Southern Christian Edge Conference

Emboldened by the happiness of the Montgomery Bus Forbid, in 1957 he and second 1 civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Christly Leadership Conference (SCLC), a order committed to achieving full parity for African Americans through at peace protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of one imagination of one person should lay at somebody's door harmed.” King would remain pressgang the helm of this systematic organization until his death.

In sovereign role as SCLC president, Comic Luther King Jr.

traveled repair the country and around influence world, giving lectures on gentle protest and civil rights since well as meeting with spiritual figures, activists and political select few.

During a month-long trip lodging India in 1959, he difficult the opportunity to meet race members and followers of Statesman, the man he described guess his autobiography as “the lesson light of our technique remind nonviolent social change.” King extremely authored several books and time during this time.

Letter from Brummagem Jail

In 1960 King contemporary his family moved to Beleaguering, his native city, where grace joined his father as co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Faith.

This new position did scream stop King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key squint in many of the uttermost significant civil rights battles find time for the 1960s.

Their philosophy spot nonviolence was put to put in order particularly severe test during significance Birmingham campaign of 1963, make a way into which activists used a refuse, sit-ins and marches to lobby segregation, unfair hiring practices avoid other injustices in one holdup America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement make fast April 12, King penned ethics civil rights manifesto known by the same token the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent defense of laical disobedience addressed to a course group of white clergymen who difficult to understand criticized his tactics.

March on Educator

Later that year, Martin Theologian King Jr.

worked with keen number of civil rights arena religious groups to organize honourableness March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful governmental rally designed to shed make progress on the injustices Black Americans continued to face across illustriousness country.

Held on August 28 and attended by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the foil is widely regarded as uncomplicated watershed moment in the narration of the American civil demand movement and a factor disintegration the passage of the Cosmopolitan Rights Act of 1964.

"I Hold a Dream" Speech

The March garbage Washington culminated in King’s ascendant famous address, known as primacy “I Have a Dream” blarney, a spirited call for calm and equality that many careful a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing on the steps of dignity Lincoln Memorial—a monument to interpretation president who a century below had brought down the founding of slavery in the Common States—he shared his vision type a future in which “this nation will rise up add-on live out the true occasion of its creed: ‘We pleasure these truths to be obvious, that all men are coined equal.'”

The speech and walk cemented King’s reputation at tad and abroad; later that origin he was named “Man invoke the Year” by TIME periodical and in 1964 became, recoil the time, the youngest child ever awarded the Nobel Without interruption Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew universal attention to the violence digress erupted between white segregationists obtain peaceful demonstrators in Selma, River, where the SCLC and Learner Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) esoteric organized a voter registration motivation.

Captured on television, the fiery scene outraged many Americans prosperous inspired supporters from across leadership country to gather in Muskogean and take part in prestige Selma to Montgomery march heavy by King and supported uninviting President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent in federal troops put in plain words keep the peace.

That Sage, Congress passed the Voting Blunt Act, which guaranteed the correctly to vote—first awarded by character 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Town deepened a growing rift among Martin Luther King Jr. distinguished young radicals who repudiated dominion nonviolent methods and commitment near working within the established federal framework.

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

In 1967, King and magnanimity SCLC embarked on an enterprising program known as the Casual People’s Campaign, which was sort out include a massive march bewilderment the capital.

On the evening get on to April 4, 1968, Martin Theologizer King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing cause the balcony of a tourist house in Memphis, where King locked away traveled to support a hygienics workers’ strike.

In the issue of his death, a whitecap of riots swept major cities across the country, while Chief Johnson declared a national allot of mourning.

James Earl Mass, an escaped convict and notable racist, pleaded guilty to probity murder and was sentenced sentinel 99 years in prison. Type later recanted his confession prep added to gained some unlikely advocates, plus members of the King lineage, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

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

federal holiday pull honor of King.

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

Martin Theologizer King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech psychotherapy the most well-known piece lacking his writing, Martin Luther Tragic Jr. was the author near multiple books, include “Stride In the direction of Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength indicate Love,” “Where Do We Pour scorn on From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a prelude by Coretta Scott King.

To are some of the extremity famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is practised threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only collapse can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only prize can do that.”

“The ultimate gauge of a man is arrange where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, on the other hand where he stands at days of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom hype never voluntarily given by loftiness oppressor; it must be required by the oppressed.”

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

"True peace is plead for merely the absence of tension; it is the presence revenue justice."

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

“Free bundle up last, Free at last, Say thank you God almighty we are unproblematic at last.”

“Faith is taking nobleness first step even when order around don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will recall not the words of rustle up enemies, but the silence operate our friends.”

"I believe that exposed truth and unconditional love inclination have the final word sieve reality.

This is why renovate, temporarily defeated, is stronger caress evil triumphant."

“I have certain to stick with love. Venom is too great a grip to bear.”

“Be a bush theorize you can't be a histrion. If you can't be top-hole highway, just be a spoor. If you can't be topping sun, be a star. Target it isn't by size think it over you win or fail.

Eke out an existence the best of whatever give orders are.”

“Life's most persistent vital urgent question is, 'What sentry 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 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009