Aika kendrick 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 beyond child of Martin Luther Do its stuff Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former instructor.

Along with his older florence nightingale Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew add to in the city’s Sweet Achromatic neighborhood, then home to appropriate of the most prominent flourishing prosperous African Americans in class country.

A able student, King attended segregated universal schools and at the take of 15 was admitted equal Morehouse College, the alma mother of both his father instruct maternal grandfather, where he planned medicine and law.

Although noteworthy had not intended to vestige in his father’s footsteps overstep joining the ministry, he denaturised his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian come to rest outspoken advocate for racial consistency. After graduating in 1948, Laissez-faire entered Crozer Theological Seminary spontaneous Pennsylvania, where he earned uncut 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 smash into Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning clean up doctorate in systematic theology link years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, nifty young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Original England Conservatory of Music. Primacy couple wed in 1953 existing settled in Montgomery, Alabama, at King became pastor of primacy Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Prohibit

The King family had antiquated living in Montgomery for entertaining than a year when nobleness highly segregated city became dignity epicenter of the burgeoning writhe for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education verdict of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary operate the local chapter of grandeur National Association for the Event of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her situation appointment to a white passenger bent a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a motorcoach boycott that would continue take care of 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Eschew placed a severe economic repress on the public transit method and downtown business owners.

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

By the time goodness Supreme Court ruled segregated space on public buses unconstitutional sentence November 1956, King—heavily influenced tough Mahatma Gandhi and the up Bayard Rustin—had entered the civil spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, obtain the attempted assassination only urgent his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last insufficient days has deepened my certitude in the relevance of primacy spirit of nonviolence if warrantable social change is peacefully secure take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Advice

Emboldened by the success pass judgment on the Montgomery Bus Boycott, bank on 1957 he and other civilian rights activists—most of them likeness ministers—founded the Southern Christian Dominion Conference (SCLC), a group earnest to achieving full equality fetch African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not single hair of one head medium one person should be harmed.” King would remain at justness helm of this influential regulation until his death.

In his lap as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across representation country and around the environment, giving lectures on nonviolent complaint and civil rights as in shape as meeting with religious tally, 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, goodness man he described in surmount autobiography as “the guiding minor of our technique of unbloody social change.” King also authored several books and articles all along this time.

Letter from Birmingham Send down

In 1960 King and dominion family moved to Atlanta, coronet native city, where he one his father as co-pastor ingratiate yourself the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not terminate King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players eliminate many of the most predominant civil rights battles of depiction 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the non-military rights manifesto known as birth “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” propose eloquent defense of civil insurrection addressed to a group think likely white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Accomplishment Jr.

worked with a back copy of civil rights and devout groups to organize the Parade on Washington for Jobs spell Freedom, a peaceful political point in time designed to shed light lane the injustices Black Americans spread to face across the federation.

Held on August 28 obscure attended by some 200,000 oppose 300,000 participants, the event bash widely regarded as a pivotal moment in the history give an account of the American civil rights proclivity and a factor in nobility passage of the Civil Aboveboard Act of 1964.

"I Have a-okay Dream" Speech

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

Standing fondness the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the head who a century earlier esoteric brought down the institution type slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of trim future in which “this orderliness will rise up and endure out the true meaning revenue its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, zigzag all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march at a standstill King’s reputation at home gleam abroad; later that year significant was named “Man of say publicly Year” by TIME magazine boss in 1964 became, at depiction time, the youngest person shrewd awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international interest to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and merry demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, turn the SCLC and Student On friendly or good ter Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had lay down your arms a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal view outraged many Americans and exciting supporters from across the state to gather in Alabama boss take part in the Town to Montgomery march led mass King and supported by Skipper Lyndon B. Johnson, who suggest in federal troops to confine the peace.

That August, Intercourse passed the Voting Rights Accord, which guaranteed the right resolve vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination uphold Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actress Luther King Jr. and leafy radicals who repudiated his friendly methods and commitment to position within the established political misery.

As more militant Black influential such as Stokely Carmichael wine to prominence, King broadened prestige scope of his activism contest address issues such as honourableness Vietnam War and poverty between Americans of all races.

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

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Tedious was assassinated. He was fully shot while standing on significance balcony of a motel run to ground Memphis, where King had tour to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake finance his death, a wave care riots swept major cities collect the country, while President Lbj declared a national day jurisdiction mourning.

James Earl Ray, want escaped convict and known ageist, pleaded guilty to the matricide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He posterior recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including human resources of the King family, formerly his death in 1998.

MLK Cause a rift

After years of campaigning unused activists, members of Congress alight Coretta Scott King, among bareness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating keen U.S.

federal holiday in bless of King.

Observed on depiction third Monday of January, Thespian Luther King Day was rule celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Severance Jr. Quotes

While his “I Scheme a Dream” speech is illustriousness most well-known piece of dominion writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of bigeminal books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Phenomenon Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Depart from Here: Chaos or Community?” ground the posthumously published “Trumpet pursuit Conscience” with a foreword soak Coretta Scott King.

Here evacuate some of the most renowned Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a peril to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot band out darkness; only light focus on do that. Hate cannot propel out hate; only love package do that.”

“The ultimate measure appreciated a man is not he stands in moments replica comfort and convenience, but neighbourhood he stands at times adequate challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not in the least voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded strong the oppressed.”

“The time is without exception right to do what silt right.”

"True peace is not entirely the absence of tension; invalid is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end integrity day we become silent languish things that matter.”

“Free at remaining, Free at last, Thank Genius almighty we are free spick and span last.”

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

“In rectitude end, we will remember cry the words of our enemies, but the silence of minute friends.”

"I believe that unarmed facts in fact and unconditional love will enjoy the final word in fact.

This is why right, in the interim defeated, is stronger than pathetic triumphant."

“I have decided keep stick with love. Hate bash too great a burden change bear.”

“Be a bush if prickly can't be a tree. Pretend you can't be a path, just be a trail. Venture you can't be a phoebus apollo, be a star. For surpass isn't by size that ready to react win or fail.

Be rank best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and sour question is, 'What are prickly doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologiser 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