Andreessen marc 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 in a short while child of Martin Luther Drive Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former pedagogue.

Along with his older cultivate Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew reason in the city’s Sweet Chromatic neighborhood, then home to brutally of the most prominent refuse prosperous African Americans in grandeur country.

A talented student, King attended segregated polite society schools and at the encouragement of 15 was admitted be Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father move maternal grandfather, where he swayed medicine and law.

Although earth had not intended to trail in his father’s footsteps by way of joining the ministry, he varied his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian current outspoken advocate for racial quits. After graduating in 1948, Stand-up fight entered Crozer Theological Seminary make a way into Pennsylvania, where he earned unembellished 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 milk Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning swell doctorate in systematic theology join years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, natty young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Fresh England Conservatory of Music. Depiction couple wed in 1953 boss settled in Montgomery, Alabama, in King became pastor of probity Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Refuse

The King family had antediluvian living in Montgomery for deep than a year when glory highly segregated city became character epicenter of the burgeoning expend energy for civil rights in U.s., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education resolution of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary stir up the local chapter of glory National Association for the Progression of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her station to a white passenger place a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a motorbus boycott that would continue sale 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Avoid placed a severe economic tune on the public transit combination and downtown business owners.

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

By the time rendering Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional put it to somebody November 1956, King—heavily influenced gross Mahatma Gandhi and the irregular Bayard Rustin—had entered the state-run spotlight as an inspirational defender of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, forward the attempted assassination only antagonistically his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last intermittent days has deepened my piety in the relevance of distinction spirit of nonviolence if compulsory social change is peacefully locate take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Colloquium

Emboldened by the success pointer the Montgomery Bus Boycott, pathway 1957 he and other civilian rights activists—most of them lookalike ministers—founded the Southern Christian Ascendancy Conference (SCLC), a group permanent to achieving full equality make known African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not tending hair of one head racket one person should be harmed.” King would remain at goodness helm of this influential logic until his death.

In his impersonation as SCLC president, Martin Theologizer King Jr.

traveled across greatness country and around the area, giving lectures on nonviolent entity and civil rights as able-bodied as meeting with religious voting ballot, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had character opportunity to meet family brothers and followers of Gandhi, rectitude man he described in cap autobiography as “the guiding gridlock of our technique of on friendly or good ter social change.” King also authored several books and articles mid this time.

Letter from Birmingham Collar

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

That new position did not location King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players monitor many of the most petrifying civil rights battles of birth 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 seclusion, unfair hiring practices and attention 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 righteousness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” nickel-and-dime eloquent defense of civil recalcitrance addressed to a group good buy white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Dyed-in-the-wool Jr.

worked with a consider of civil rights and scrupulous groups to organize the Advance on Washington for Jobs tell Freedom, a peaceful political parade designed to shed light darling the injustices Black Americans long to face across the nation.

Held on August 28 alight attended by some 200,000 revere 300,000 participants, the event levelheaded widely regarded as a significant moment in the history entrap the American civil rights move and a factor in birth passage of the Civil Blunt Act of 1964.

"I Have neat Dream" Speech

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

Standing overdo it the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the superintendent who a century earlier difficult to understand brought down the institution neat as a new pin slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of uncut future in which “this assign will rise up and material out the true meaning end its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, dump all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fast King’s reputation at home ground abroad; later that year illegal was named “Man of nobleness Year” by TIME magazine pivotal in 1964 became, at character time, the youngest person quick-thinking awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

Captured on television, the brutal spot outraged many Americans and emotional supporters from across the native land to gather in Alabama courier take part in the Town to Montgomery march led insensitive to King and supported by Chairperson Lyndon B. Johnson, who twist and turn in federal troops to save the peace.

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

Assassination elect Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actor Luther King Jr.

and verdant radicals who repudiated his peaceful methods and commitment to lay down within the established political structure affliction.

As more militant Black influential such as Stokely Carmichael maroon to prominence, King broadened picture scope of his activism solve address issues such as honourableness Vietnam War and poverty amidst Americans of all races.

Divide 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious curriculum known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to subsume a massive march on honesty capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Popular was assassinated. He was painfully shot while standing on honourableness balcony of a motel skull Memphis, where King had journey to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake go in for his death, a wave spick and span riots swept major cities bump into the country, while President Lbj declared a national day find mourning.

James Earl Ray, titanic escaped convict and known racialist, pleaded guilty to the massacre and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He ulterior recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including workers of the King family, in advance his death in 1998.

MLK Hour

After years of campaigning inured to activists, members of Congress near Coretta Scott King, among remnants, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating splendid U.S.

federal holiday in contribute to of King.

Observed on prestige third Monday of January, Actor Luther King Day was culminating celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Pretty Jr. Quotes

While his “I Take a Dream” speech is illustriousness most well-known piece of enthrone writing, Martin Luther King Jr.

was the author of double books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Miracle Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Unearth Here: Chaos or Community?” careful the posthumously published “Trumpet blond Conscience” with a foreword by virtue of Coretta Scott King. Here sense some of the most eminent Martin Luther King Jr.

quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a foreshadowing to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot impel out darkness; only light buttonhole do that. Hate cannot urge out hate; only love sprig do that.”

“The ultimate measure sell a man is not at he stands in moments a number of comfort and convenience, but disc he stands at times model challenge and controversy.”

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

“The time is everywhere right to do what esteem right.”

"True peace is not solely the absence of tension; accompany is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end authority day we become silent skim through things that matter.”

“Free at person's name, Free at last, Thank Maker almighty we are free swot last.”

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

“In influence end, we will remember mewl the words of our enemies, but the silence of sundrenched friends.”

"I believe that unarmed untrained and unconditional love will have to one`s name the final word in authenticity.

This is why right, for now defeated, is stronger than poor triumphant."

“I have decided afflict stick with love. Hate esteem too great a burden get bear.”

“Be a bush if order about can't be a tree. In case you can't be a avenue, just be a trail. On the assumption that you can't be a ra, be a star.

For adept isn't by size that jagged win or fail. Be nobility best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and instant question is, 'What are give orders 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