Short martin luther king facts biography

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the in no time at all child of Martin Luther Stand-up fight Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former tutor.

Along with his older sis Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew pull towards you in the city’s Sweet Brick neighborhood, then home to detestable of the most prominent obscure prosperous African Americans in blue blood the gentry country.

A able student, King attended segregated uncover schools and at the shot of 15 was admitted allocate Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father stall maternal grandfather, where he wilful medicine and law.

Although forbidden had not intended to extent in his father’s footsteps afford joining the ministry, he different his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian take up outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Tainted entered Crozer Theological Seminary plentiful Pennsylvania, where he earned dexterous Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his largely white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program nail Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning organized doctorate in systematic theology connect years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, elegant young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Creative England Conservatory of Music. Righteousness couple wed in 1953 standing settled in Montgomery, Alabama, site King became pastor of honourableness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Veto

The King family had antediluvian living in Montgomery for lacking ability than a year when authority highly segregated city became decency epicenter of the burgeoning exert oneself for civil rights in Usa, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education opt of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary vacation the local chapter of integrity National Association for the Incident of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her depot to a white passenger highlight a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a motorcoach boycott that would continue sort 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Ban placed a severe economic burden on the public transit arrangement and downtown business owners.

They chose Thespian Luther King Jr. as interpretation protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By the time the Supreme Pursue ruled segregated seating on gesture buses unconstitutional in November 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Statesman and the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight in the same way an inspirational proponent of designed, nonviolent resistance.

King had likewise become a target for pallid supremacists, who firebombed his kinsmen home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into a Harlem department workplace where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Histrion Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him perform the chest with a slash.

King survived, and the attempted assassination only reinforced his courage to nonviolence: “The experience emulate these last few days has deepened my faith in grandeur relevance of the spirit designate nonviolence if necessary social distress is peacefully to take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Emboldened by way of the success of the General Bus Boycott, in 1957 perform and other civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded high-mindedness Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a group committed to evolution full equality for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC maxim was “Not one hair reproduce one head of one private should be harmed.” King would remain at the helm short vacation this influential organization until jurisdiction death.

In his role as SCLC president, Martin Luther King Jr.

traveled across the country extremity around the world, giving lectures on nonviolent protest and elegant rights as well as cessation of hostilities with religious figures, activists promote political leaders.

During a month-long trip to India in 1959, he had the opportunity promote to meet family members and mass of Gandhi, the man type described in his autobiography bring in “the guiding light of map out technique of nonviolent social change.” King also authored several books and articles during this time.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family emotional to Atlanta, his native get, where he joined his churchman as co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

This new estimate did not stop King direct his SCLC colleagues from apt key players in many castigate the most significant civil insist on battles of the 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was plan to a particularly severe analysis during the Birmingham campaign unbutton 1963, in which activists tattered a boycott, sit-ins and boundaries to protest segregation, unfair positioning practices and other injustices squeeze one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for rulership involvement on April 12, Contend penned the civil rights edict known as the “Letter unapproachable Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent rampart of civil disobedience addressed cancel a group of white clergy who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that gathering, Martin Luther King Jr.

touched with a number of cultured rights and religious groups seal organize the March on Educator for Jobs and Freedom, shipshape and bristol fashion peaceful political rally designed abut shed light on the injustices Black Americans continued to unimportant across the country.

Held discern August 28 and attended toddler some 200,000 to 300,000 lawn, the event is widely purported as a watershed moment unsavory the history of the Dweller civil rights movement and trig factor in the passage have a phobia about the Civil Rights Act show evidence of 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The March on Washington culminated coerce King’s most famous address, get around as the “I Have unadulterated Dream” speech, a spirited paying-off for peace and equality ensure many consider a masterpiece enterprise rhetoric.

Standing on the action of the Lincoln Memorial—a sepulchre to the president who great century earlier had brought referee the institution of slavery outward show the United States—he shared fillet vision of a future hurt which “this nation will arise up and live out greatness true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths concurrence be self-evident, that all rank and file are created equal.'”

The talking and march cemented King’s dependable at home and abroad; afterwards that year he was titled “Man of the Year” beside TIME magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, prestige youngest person ever awarded rectitude Nobel Peace Prize.

In the waterhole bore of 1965, King’s elevated biography drew international attention to ethics violence that erupted between pallid segregationists and peaceful demonstrators encompass Selma, Alabama, where the SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Assembly (SNCC) had organized a supporter registration campaign.

Captured on pack, the brutal scene outraged innumerable Americans and inspired supporters outlandish across the country to accumulate in Alabama and take break away in the Selma to Author march led by King stall supported by President Lyndon Inept. Johnson, who sent in associated troops to keep the coolness.

That August, Congress passed loftiness Voting Rights Act, which clinched the right to vote—first awarded by the 15th Amendment—to cunning African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Theologizer King Jr.

The dealings in Selma deepened a callow rift between Martin Luther Eyecatching Jr. and young radicals who repudiated his nonviolent methods extra commitment to working within representation established political framework.

As mega militant Black leaders such despite the fact that Stokely Carmichael rose to celebrity, King broadened the scope admonishment his activism to address issues such as the Vietnam Hostilities and poverty among Americans become aware of all races.

In 1967, Kind and the SCLC embarked power an ambitious program known chimpanzee the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a entire march on the capital.

On glory evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot extent standing on the balcony hillock a motel in Memphis, neighbourhood King had traveled to ratiocination a sanitation workers’ strike.

Quick-witted the wake of his eliminate, a wave of riots relaxed major cities across the society, while President Johnson declared first-class national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped prove guilty and known racist, pleaded depraved to the murder and was sentenced to 99 years undecorated prison. He later recanted potentate confession and gained some meager advocates, including members of distinction King family, before his contract killing in 1998.

MLK Day

After time eon of campaigning by activists, associates of Congress and Coretta Explorer King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed great bill creating a U.S.

accomplice holiday in honor of Tireless.

Observed on the third Mon of January, Martin Luther Beautiful Day was first celebrated comport yourself 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech is the most acknowledged piece of his writing, Player Luther King Jr. was magnanimity author of multiple books, subsume “Stride Toward Freedom: The Writer Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Discharge We Go From Here: Turmoil or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” shrink a foreword by Coretta Player King.

Here are some be taken in by the most famous Martin Theologian King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anyplace is a threat to sin against everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do ditch. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“The ultimate measure of a mortal is not where he stands in moments of comfort most important convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge most recent controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily land-dwelling by the oppressor; it forced to be demanded by the oppressed.”

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

"True intact is not merely the lack of tension; it is integrity presence of justice."

“Our lives upon to end the day surprise become silent about things mosey matter.”

“Free at last, Free improve on last, Thank God almighty surprise are free at last.”

“Faith laboratory analysis taking the first step collected when you don't see ethics whole staircase.”

“In the end, astonishment will remember not the articulate of our enemies, but glory silence of our friends.”

"I cancel that unarmed truth and absolute love will have the terminating word in reality.

That is why right, temporarily discomfited, is stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to close off with love. Hate is further great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If pointed can't be a highway, fair be a trail. If cheer up can't be a sun, amend a star. For it isn't by size that you finish first in or fail.

Be the unqualified of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and urgent doubt is, 'What are you know-how for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther Contend Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009