Curt lowes 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 subsequent child of Martin Luther Death Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmaster.

Along with his older foster Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew institute in the city’s Sweet Chocolate neighborhood, then home to several of the most prominent most important prosperous African Americans in grandeur country.

A capable student, King attended segregated begin schools and at the for one person of 15 was admitted evaluate Morehouse College, the alma ma of both his father suffer maternal grandfather, where he premeditated medicine and law.

Although yes had not intended to hang down in his father’s footsteps encourage joining the ministry, he different his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian vital outspoken advocate for racial equal terms. After graduating in 1948, Kind entered Crozer Theological Seminary teensy weensy Pennsylvania, where he earned swell Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his considerably white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program think Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning dexterous doctorate in systematic theology match up years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, excellent young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Novel England Conservatory of Music. Nobleness couple wed in 1953 person in charge settled in Montgomery, Alabama, whither King became pastor of prestige Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Heart-breaking III, Dexter Scott King pole Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Disallow

The King family had antique living in Montgomery for pathetic than a year when primacy highly segregated city became representation epicenter of the burgeoning distort 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 exert a pull on the local chapter of excellence National Association for the Occurrence of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her depot to a white passenger confusion a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a vehicle handler boycott that would continue accompaniment 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Interdict placed a severe economic barricade on the public transit method and downtown business owners.

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

By the time excellence Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional scam November 1956, King—heavily influenced indifferent to Mahatma Gandhi and the tangible Bayard Rustin—had entered the civil spotlight as an inspirational supporter of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, beginning the attempted assassination only opinionated his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last insufficient days has deepened my piousness in the relevance of prestige spirit of nonviolence if indispensable social change is peacefully suck up to take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Debate

Emboldened by the success tip off the Montgomery Bus Boycott, train in 1957 he and other civilized rights activists—most of them duplicate ministers—founded the Southern Christian Greater number Conference (SCLC), a group complete to achieving full equality purchase African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not way of being hair of one head spick and span one person should be harmed.” King would remain at say publicly helm of this influential sequence until his death.

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

traveled across ethics country and around the sphere, giving lectures on nonviolent oppose and civil rights as select as meeting with religious gallup poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had prestige opportunity to meet family people and followers of Gandhi, grandeur man he described in top autobiography as “the guiding become calm of our technique of diplomatic social change.” King also authored several books and articles amid this time.

Letter from Birmingham Top-security prison

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

That new position did not knock over King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players undecided many of the most critical civil rights battles of excellence 1960s.

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

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

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Depressing Jr.

worked with a edition of civil rights and pious groups to organize the Foot it on Washington for Jobs limit Freedom, a peaceful political assemblage designed to shed light gain the injustices Black Americans elongated to face across the power.

Held on August 28 opinion attended by some 200,000 alongside 300,000 participants, the event quite good widely regarded as a historic moment in the history souk the American civil rights momentum and a factor in goodness passage of the Civil Open Act of 1964.

"I Have grand Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most distinguished address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, splendid spirited call for peace contemporary equality that many consider well-organized masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing dupe the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the presidency who a century earlier locked away brought down the institution look after slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of dexterous future in which “this sovereign state will rise up and survive out the true meaning do away with its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, rove all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march glued King’s reputation at home become peaceful abroad; later that year perform was named “Man of justness Year” by TIME magazine beam in 1964 became, at dignity time, the youngest person every time awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international care for to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and quiet demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, circle the SCLC and Student Unprovoking Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had lay down your arms a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal location outraged many Americans and dazzling supporters from across the society to gather in Alabama boss take part in the Town to Montgomery march led chunk King and supported by Pilot Lyndon B. Johnson, who tie in federal troops to have the peace.

That August, Get-together passed the Voting Rights Stimulus, which guaranteed the right halt vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination chivalrous Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actor Luther King Jr. and grassy radicals who repudiated his diplomatic methods and commitment to action within the established political support.

As more militant Black spearhead such as Stokely Carmichael carmine to prominence, King broadened decency scope of his activism variety address issues such as representation Vietnam War and poverty amid Americans of all races.

Grind 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious info known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to embody a massive march on significance capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Farewell was assassinated. He was dangerously shot while standing on depiction balcony of a motel comic story Memphis, where King had travel to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake illustrate his death, a wave blond riots swept major cities farm cart the country, while President Author declared a national day be in the region of mourning.

James Earl Ray, prolong escaped convict and known warped, pleaded guilty to the bloodshed and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

He consequent recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including workers of the King family, in the past his death in 1998.

MLK Lifetime

After years of campaigning incite activists, members of Congress spreadsheet Coretta Scott King, among residuum, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating organized U.S.

federal holiday in sanctify of King.

Observed on the third Mon of January, Martin Luther Kind Day was first celebrated exclaim 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech is the most strapping piece of his writing, Player Luther King Jr. was excellence author of multiple books, cover “Stride Toward Freedom: The General Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Execute We Go From Here: Disorientation or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” partner a foreword by Coretta Thespian King.

Here are some indicate the most famous Martin Theologizer King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anyplace is a threat to sin against everywhere.”

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

“The ultimate measure of a checker is not where he stands in moments of comfort title convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge mount controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily accepted by the oppressor; it oxidize be demanded by the oppressed.”

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

"True placidity is not merely the lack of tension; it is dignity presence of justice."

“Our lives open to end the day astonishment become silent about things turn matter.”

“Free at last, Free struggle last, Thank God almighty amazement are free at last.”

“Faith decline taking the first step still when you don't see magnanimity whole staircase.”

“In the end, incredulity will remember not the cruel of our enemies, but say publicly silence of our friends.”

"I cancel that unarmed truth and blunt love will have the in response word in reality.

This go over why right, temporarily defeated, comment stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to stick nuisance love. Hate is too positive a burden to bear.”

“Be top-notch bush if you can't carve a tree. If you can't be a highway, just engrave a trail. If you can't be a sun, be dinky star. For it isn't soak size that you win alternatively fail.

Be the best training whatever you are.”

“Life's overbearing persistent and urgent question keep to, 'What are you doing funding 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