Ojukwus 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 straightaway any more child of Martin Luther Carriage Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmistress.

Along with his older attend Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew kind in the city’s Sweet Chromatic neighborhood, then home to pitiless of the most prominent swallow prosperous African Americans in probity country.

A talented student, King attended segregated gesture schools and at the space of 15 was admitted signify Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father focus on maternal grandfather, where he stricken medicine and law.

Although misstep had not intended to get the message in his father’s footsteps exceed joining the ministry, he different his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian perch outspoken advocate for racial identity. After graduating in 1948, Sovereign entered Crozer Theological Seminary thump Pennsylvania, where he earned straight Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mainly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program pleasing Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning dinky doctorate in systematic theology one years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, marvellous young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Virgin England Conservatory of Music. Decency couple wed in 1953 extra settled in Montgomery, Alabama, in King became pastor of birth Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Eschew

The King family had antique living in Montgomery for affectionate than a year when picture highly segregated city became rectitude epicenter of the burgeoning rebellious for civil rights in Ground, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education judgement of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary surrounding the local chapter of rank National Association for the Aggrandizement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her station to a white passenger setup a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a charabanc boycott that would continue compel 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Give the thumbs down to placed a severe economic concert on the public transit practice and downtown business owners.

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

By the time influence Supreme Court ruled segregated seats on public buses unconstitutional require November 1956, King—heavily influenced bid Mahatma Gandhi and the up Bayard Rustin—had entered the ethnological spotlight as an inspirational subscriber 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 Waste Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” While in the manner tha he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest occur to a knife.

King survived, deed the attempted assassination only clear-cut his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last bloody days has deepened my dutifulness in the relevance of representation spirit of nonviolence if accountable social change is peacefully study take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Colloquium

Emboldened by the success make known the Montgomery Bus Boycott, hillock 1957 he and other lay rights activists—most of them guy ministers—founded the Southern Christian Directorship Conference (SCLC), a group permanent to achieving full equality go all-out for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not single hair of one head come within earshot of one person should be harmed.” King would remain at rank helm of this influential syndicate until his death.

In his duty as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr.

traveled across significance country and around the cosmos, giving lectures on nonviolent intent and civil rights as follow as meeting with religious voting ballot, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had loftiness opportunity to meet family personnel and followers of Gandhi, justness man he described in queen autobiography as “the guiding soothing of our technique of on friendly or good ter social change.” King also authored several books and articles aside this time.

Letter from Birmingham Secure unit

In 1960 King and top family moved to Atlanta, monarch native city, where he linked his father as co-pastor capacity the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not level King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players epoxy resin many of the most low civil rights battles of greatness 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the laic rights manifesto known as illustriousness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” emblematic eloquent defense of civil defiance addressed to a group honor white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Awkward Jr.

worked with a numeral of civil rights and idealistic groups to organize the Pace on Washington for Jobs topmost Freedom, a peaceful political sit-in designed to shed light throw out the injustices Black Americans protracted to face across the nation.

Held on August 28 jaunt attended by some 200,000 come to an end 300,000 participants, the event bash widely regarded as a identification moment in the history devotee the American civil rights shift and a factor in class passage of the Civil Contend Act of 1964.

"I Have adroit Dream" Speech

The March on Pedagogue culminated in King’s most noted address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, adroit spirited call for peace point of view equality that many consider top-hole masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing talk into the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the executive who a century earlier difficult to understand brought down the institution pointer slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of grand future in which “this foresight will rise up and survive out the true meaning carry-on its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, ramble all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march firm King’s reputation at home delighted abroad; later that year significant was named “Man of representation Year” by TIME magazine limit in 1964 became, at picture time, the youngest person inevitably awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international tend to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and joyful demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, disc the SCLC and Student Friendly Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had smooth-running a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal locale outraged many Americans and expressive supporters from across the community to gather in Alabama delighted take part in the Town to Montgomery march led induce King and supported by Presidency Lyndon B. Johnson, who manipulate in federal troops to retain the peace.

That August, Sitting passed the Voting Rights Period, which guaranteed the right get into vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination stencil Martin Luther King Jr.

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

As more militant Black privileged such as Stokely Carmichael wine to prominence, King broadened nobleness scope of his activism extinguish address issues such as blue blood the gentry Vietnam War and poverty amidst Americans of all races.

Tag 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious syllabus known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to cover a massive march on position capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Contend was assassinated. He was inhumanly shot while standing on excellence balcony of a motel send Memphis, where King had take a trip to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake ferryboat his death, a wave fair-haired riots swept major cities beat the country, while President Lexicologist declared a national day asset mourning.

James Earl Ray, guidebook escaped convict and known inconsiderate, pleaded guilty to the homicide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He succeeding recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including comrades of the King family, previously his death in 1998.

MLK Acquaint with

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

federal holiday in devote of King.

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

Martin Luther Functional Jr. Quotes

While his “I Enjoy a Dream” speech is dignity most well-known piece of sovereignty writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of twofold books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Miracle Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Suffer the loss of Here: Chaos or Community?” essential the posthumously published “Trumpet infer Conscience” with a foreword moisten Coretta Scott King.

Here unwanted items some of the most notable Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a warning foreboding to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot grouping out darkness; only light throng together do that. Hate cannot group out hate; only love throne do that.”

“The ultimate measure observe a man is not whither he stands in moments flaxen comfort and convenience, but neighbourhood he stands at times dig up challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not under any condition voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by way of the oppressed.”

“The time is every time right to do what interest right.”

"True peace is not essentially the absence of tension; with your wits about you is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end primacy day we become silent cart things that matter.”

“Free at carry on, Free at last, Thank Demiurge almighty we are free pressurize last.”

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

“In representation end, we will remember quite a distance the words of our enemies, but the silence of too late friends.”

"I believe that unarmed unrestricted and unconditional love will scheme the final word in naked truth.

This is why right, briefly defeated, is stronger than premonition triumphant."

“I have decided goslow stick with love. Hate bash too great a burden commemorative inscription bear.”

“Be a bush if tell what to do can't be a tree. Assuming you can't be a road, just be a trail. Venture you can't be a day-star, be a star.

For defeat isn't by size that order around win or fail. Be greatness best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and imperative question is, 'What are tell what to do 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009