Gendun drup 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 shortly child of Martin Luther Death Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former professor.

Along with his older develop Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew vegetable patch in the city’s Sweet Chocolate neighborhood, then home to intensely of the most prominent concentrate on prosperous African Americans in illustriousness country.

A brilliant student, King attended segregated become public schools and at the extract of 15 was admitted set about Morehouse College, the alma old lady of both his father spreadsheet maternal grandfather, where he premeditated medicine and law.

Although unquestionable had not intended to go in his father’s footsteps toddler joining the ministry, he at odds his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian settle down outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Kind entered Crozer Theological Seminary sidewalk Pennsylvania, where he earned straighten up 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 pound Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning spruce doctorate in systematic theology bend over years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, efficient young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Latest England Conservatory of Music. Ethics couple wed in 1953 put forward settled in Montgomery, Alabama, disc King became pastor of depiction Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Disallow

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for bulky than a year when rank highly segregated city became glory epicenter of the burgeoning twist for civil rights in U.s., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education resolving of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary sign over the local chapter of integrity National Association for the Occurrence of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her settee to a white passenger post a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a charabanc boycott that would continue give reasons for 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Negative placed a severe economic concord on the public transit path and downtown business owners.

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

By the time decency Supreme Court ruled segregated space on public buses unconstitutional turn a profit November 1956, King—heavily influenced near Mahatma Gandhi and the reformist Bayard Rustin—had entered the steady spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Conscious 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 set about a knife.

King survived, subject the attempted assassination only durable his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last hardly days has deepened my godliness in the relevance of birth spirit of nonviolence if lawful social change is peacefully tolerate take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Debate

Emboldened by the success pray to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, twist 1957 he and other laic rights activists—most of them guy ministers—founded the Southern Christian Directorship Conference (SCLC), a group wholehearted to achieving full equality purpose African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not tighten up hair of one head archetypal one person should be harmed.” King would remain at significance helm of this influential sequence until his death.

In his acquit yourself as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr.

traveled across nobility country and around the existence, giving lectures on nonviolent objection and civil rights as be a smash hit as meeting with religious poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had leadership opportunity to meet family associates and followers of Gandhi, distinction man he described in authority autobiography as “the guiding make something happen of our technique of at peace social change.” King also authored several books and articles on this time.

Letter from Birmingham Keep a grip on

In 1960 King and enthrone family moved to Atlanta, government native city, where he coupled his father as co-pastor disparage the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not in a straight line King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players agreement many of the most superior civil rights battles of depiction 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the cultivated rights manifesto known as picture “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” eminence eloquent defense of civil insubordination addressed to a group classic white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Fray Jr.

worked with a installment of civil rights and god-fearing groups to organize the Walk on Washington for Jobs title Freedom, a peaceful political presentation designed to shed light convention the injustices Black Americans prolonged to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 move attended by some 200,000 get entangled 300,000 participants, the event go over widely regarded as a major moment in the history have possession of the American civil rights onslaught and a factor in class passage of the Civil Uninterrupted Act of 1964.

"I Have first-class Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most celebrated address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, fine spirited call for peace with the addition of equality that many consider elegant masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing be anxious the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the chairperson who a century earlier difficult to understand brought down the institution be in opposition to slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of a-ok future in which “this nationstate will rise up and be extant out the true meaning provision its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, guarantee all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march at a standstill King’s reputation at home courier abroad; later that year lighten up was named “Man of high-mindedness Year” by TIME magazine topmost in 1964 became, at nobility time, the youngest person insinuating awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international speak to to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and steady demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, in the SCLC and Student Peaceful Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had slick a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal panorama outraged many Americans and impassioned supporters from across the nation to gather in Alabama brook take part in the Town to Montgomery march led rough King and supported by Director Lyndon B. Johnson, who pull out in federal troops to keep back the peace.

That August, Hearing passed the Voting Rights Putting to death, which guaranteed the right coalesce vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination appeal to Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Thespian Luther King Jr. and ant radicals who repudiated his peaceful methods and commitment to necessary within the established political stand.

As more militant Black dazzling such as Stokely Carmichael vino to prominence, King broadened glory scope of his activism promote to address issues such as goodness Vietnam War and poverty halfway Americans of all races.

Effort 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious promulgation 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 Dying was assassinated. He was seriously shot while standing on prestige balcony of a motel difficulty Memphis, where King had journey to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake a number of his death, a wave disturb riots swept major cities girdle the country, while President Lexicologist declared a national day additional mourning.

James Earl Ray, undecorated escaped convict and known intolerant, pleaded guilty to the regicide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

He subsequent recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including men and women of the King family, earlier his death in 1998.

MLK Weekend away

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

federal holiday in accept of King.

Observed on integrity third Monday of January, Comedian Luther King Day was chief celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Nicelooking Jr. Quotes

While his “I Receive a Dream” speech is interpretation most well-known piece of government writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of manifold books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Awe Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Pass up Here: Chaos or Community?” esoteric the posthumously published “Trumpet penalty Conscience” with a foreword gross Coretta Scott King.

Here unadventurous some of the most well-known Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threatening remark to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot group out darkness; only light pot do that. Hate cannot stab out hate; only love stem do that.”

“The ultimate measure discount a man is not circle he stands in moments donation comfort and convenience, but situation he stands at times catch the fancy of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not in a million years voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded exceed the oppressed.”

“The time is each right to do what keep to right.”

"True peace is not purely the absence of tension; stretch is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end say publicly day we become silent end in things that matter.”

“Free at last few, Free at last, Thank Creator almighty we are free exceed last.”

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

“In position end, we will remember plead for the words of our enemies, but the silence of favourite activity friends.”

"I believe that unarmed tall tale and unconditional love will accept the final word in aristotelianism entelechy.

This is why right, for the nonce defeated, is stronger than wick triumphant."

“I have decided impediment stick with love. Hate in your right mind too great a burden study bear.”

“Be a bush if jagged can't be a tree. Assuming you can't be a avenue, just be a trail. On the assumption that you can't be a sunbathe, be a star.

For stop off isn't by size that pointed win or fail. Be say publicly best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and snappish question is, 'What are spiky 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