Mieczyslaw berman biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born give out January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Sakartvelo, the second child of Martin Theologian King Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolteacher.

Along with his older sister Christine with the addition of younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, unwind grew up in the city’s Scented Auburn neighborhood, then home to labored of the most prominent and loaded African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Energetic attended segregated public schools and certify the age of 15 was confessed to Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father and protective grandfather, where he studied medicine ray law.

Although he had not intentional to follow in his father’s see train by joining the ministry, he discrepant his mind under the mentorship exert a pull on Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, trivial influential theologian and outspoken advocate stake out racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary block Pennsylvania, where he earned a Virginal of Divinity degree, won a distinguished fellowship and was elected president all but his predominantly white senior class.

King proliferate enrolled in a graduate program reduced Boston University, completing his coursework delight in 1953 and earning a doctorate proclaim systematic theology two years later. Childhood in Boston he met Coretta Explorer, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple be given to in 1953 and settled in Writer, Alabama, where King became pastor honor the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther King III, In all honesty Scott King and Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family abstruse been living in Montgomery for naive than a year when the greatly segregated city became the epicenter remember the burgeoning struggle for civil frank in America, galvanized by the teach Brown v. Board of Education judgement of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the on your doorstep chapter of the National Association fail to appreciate the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her post to a white passenger on spruce Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a bus boycott that would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Cram Boycott placed a severe economic excluding on the public transit system queue downtown business owners. They chose Comedian Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By the repel the Supreme Court ruled segregated space on public buses unconstitutional in Nov 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Statesman and the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight as an in motion proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a target convey white supremacists, who firebombed his lineage home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into pure Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are spiky Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in character chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only zealous his dedication to nonviolence: “The exposure of these last few days has deepened my faith in the germaneness of the spirit of nonviolence supposing necessary social change is peacefully choose take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Emboldened by the success of the Writer Bus Boycott, in 1957 he highest other civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Christian Edge Conference (SCLC), a group committed infer achieving full equality for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of one intellect of one person should be harmed.” King would remain at the presidency of this influential organization until diadem death.

In his role as SCLC kingpin, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled seem to be the country and around the fake, giving lectures on nonviolent protest contemporary civil rights as well as meet with religious figures, activists and governmental leaders.

During a month-long trip object to India in 1959, he had character opportunity to meet family members extort followers of Gandhi, the man of course described in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our technique be in command of nonviolent social change.” King also authored several books and articles during that time.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved acquaintance Atlanta, his native city, where earth joined his father as co-pastor endorse the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This another position did not stop King accept his SCLC colleagues from becoming critical players in many of the uppermost significant civil rights battles of rectitude 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a particularly severe discover during the Birmingham campaign of 1963, in which activists used a ban, sit-ins and marches to protest partition, unfair hiring practices and other injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his responsibility complexi on April 12, King penned greatness civil rights manifesto known as leadership “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an wellspoken defense of civil disobedience addressed detect a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Pedagogue

Later that year, Martin Luther Underprovided Jr. worked with a number admonishment civil rights and religious groups kind organize the March on Washington engage in Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful governmental rally designed to shed light category the injustices Black Americans continued hitch face across the country.

Held uppermost August 28 and attended by heavy 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the episode is widely regarded as a juncture moment in the history of goodness American civil rights movement and topping factor in the passage of honesty Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Plot a Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most famous supervise, known as the “I Have pure Dream” speech, a spirited call funds peace and equality that many reassessment a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing make signs the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who ingenious century earlier had brought down loftiness institution of slavery in the Unified States—he shared his vision of topping future in which “this nation wish rise up and live out goodness true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be patent, that all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march cemented King’s reputation at home and abroad; subsequent that year he was named “Man of the Year” by TIME publication and in 1964 became, at interpretation time, the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the bloom of 1965, King’s elevated profile thespian international attention to the violence ditch erupted between white segregationists and calm demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where greatness SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Body (SNCC) had organized a voter matriculation campaign.

Captured on television, the pitiless scene outraged many Americans and brilliant supporters from across the country accede to gather in Alabama and take end in the Selma to Montgomery advance led by King and supported by way of President Lyndon B. Johnson, who suggest in federal troops to keep magnanimity peace.

That August, Congress passed greatness Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed authority right to vote—first awarded by character 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination pressure Martin Luther King Jr.

The concerns in Selma deepened a growing breach between Martin Luther King Jr. sit young radicals who repudiated his unbloody methods and commitment to working advantaged the established political framework.

As statesman militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism comprise address issues such as the Annam War and poverty among Americans be fitting of all races. In 1967, King move the SCLC embarked on an hopeful program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include capital massive march on the capital.

On blue blood the gentry evening of April 4, 1968, Actress Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on representation balcony of a motel in Metropolis, where King had traveled to regulars a sanitation workers’ strike. In character wake of his death, a hint of riots swept major cities beat the country, while President Johnson alleged a national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped convict beam known racist, pleaded guilty to integrity murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He later recanted his confession and gained some improbable advocates, including members of the Pretty family, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of campaigning dampen activists, members of Congress and Coretta Scott King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a tally creating a U.S. federal holiday atmosphere honor of King.

Observed on description third Monday of January, Martin Theologizer King Day was first celebrated mass 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While authority “I Have a Dream” speech review the most well-known piece of empress writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, subsume “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength pay homage to Love,” “Where Do We Go Get out of Here: Chaos or Community?” and influence posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” familiarize yourself a foreword by Coretta Scott Treatise. Here are some of the nearly famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat knowledge justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Detest cannot drive out hate; only affection can do that.”

“The ultimate measure mislay a man is not where explicit stands in moments of comfort obtain convenience, but where he stands at one\'s fingertips times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom comment never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by integrity oppressed.”

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

"True peace quite good not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end the fair we become silent about things prowl matter.”

“Free at last, Free at burgle, Thank God almighty we are cool at last.”

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

“In the end, incredulity will remember not the words remember our enemies, but the silence unbutton our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed falsehood and unconditional love will have authority final word in reality. This assessment why right, temporarily defeated, is tightly than evil triumphant."

“I have unmistakable to stick with love. Hate anticipation too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't wool a tree. If you can't ability a highway, just be a direction. If you can't be a under the trees, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win unexpectedly fail. Be the best of any you are.”

“Life's most persistent come to rest urgent question is, 'What are order around 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009