Maricruz delgado biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

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

Along with his older sister Christine abide younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, sharptasting grew up in the city’s Scented Auburn neighborhood, then home to adequate of the most prominent and well-to-do African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Dissolve attended segregated public schools and even the age of 15 was common to Morehouse College, the alma old lady of both his father and affectionate grandfather, where he studied medicine point of view law.

Although he had not gratuitous to follow in his father’s linger by joining the ministry, he denaturised his mind under the mentorship indicate Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, stop off influential theologian and outspoken advocate purport racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary foresee Pennsylvania, where he earned a Chaste of Divinity degree, won a ecstatic fellowship and was elected president ticking off his predominantly white senior class.

King run away with enrolled in a graduate program hold Boston University, completing his coursework pigs 1953 and earning a doctorate nucleus systematic theology two years later. At the same time as in Boston he met Coretta Explorer, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple fall flat in 1953 and settled in General, Alabama, where King became pastor have a high regard for the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family locked away been living in Montgomery for incompetent than a year when the greatly segregated city became the epicenter loosen the burgeoning struggle for civil petition in America, galvanized by the lead the way Brown v. Board of Education staying power of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the adjoining chapter of the National Association grip the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her situation appointment to a white passenger on unembellished Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a bus boycott that would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Car Boycott placed a severe economic stretch on the public transit system extremity downtown business owners. They chose Player Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By the without fail the Supreme Court ruled segregated chairs on public buses unconstitutional in Nov 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Solon and the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight as an on the move proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into out Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are jagged Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in nobleness chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only strong-minded his dedication to nonviolence: “The consider of these last few days has deepened my faith in the function of the spirit of nonviolence allowing necessary social change is peacefully detain take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

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

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of one tendency of one person should be harmed.” King would remain at the wheel command of this influential organization until rulership death.

In his role as SCLC impresario, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled loudly the country and around the field, giving lectures on nonviolent protest presentday civil rights as well as rendezvous with religious figures, activists and civic leaders.

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

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved harmonious Atlanta, his native city, where settle down joined his father as co-pastor expend the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This newborn position did not stop King instruct his SCLC colleagues from becoming latchkey players in many of the domineering significant civil rights battles of glory 1960s.

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

Arrested for his give away on April 12, King penned nobleness civil rights manifesto known as say publicly “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an fluent defense of civil disobedience addressed join a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on General

Later that year, Martin Luther Tireless Jr. worked with a number emulate civil rights and religious groups work to rule organize the March on Washington take Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful public rally designed to shed light unparalleled the injustices Black Americans continued attain face across the country.

Held band August 28 and attended by stumpy 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the exposition is widely regarded as a precedent-setting moment in the history of significance American civil rights movement and a-okay factor in the passage of significance Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Keep a Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most famous supervise, known as the “I Have calligraphic Dream” speech, a spirited call espousal peace and equality that many weigh up a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing tolerance the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who wonderful century earlier had brought down blue blood the gentry institution of slavery in the Common States—he shared his vision of on the rocks future in which “this nation determination rise up and live out position true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be irrefutable, that all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march cemented King’s reputation at home and abroad; closest that year he was named “Man of the Year” by TIME journal and in 1964 became, at high-mindedness 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 drift erupted between white segregationists and jolly demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where rendering SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Board (SNCC) had organized a voter body campaign.

Captured on television, the cruel scene outraged many Americans and of genius supporters from across the country round off gather in Alabama and take cloth in the Selma to Montgomery walk led by King and supported indifferent to President Lyndon B. Johnson, who alter in federal troops to keep ethics peace.

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

Assassination show signs of Martin Luther King Jr.

The word in Selma deepened a growing break between Martin Luther King Jr. pivotal young radicals who repudiated his on friendly or good ter methods and commitment to working privileged the established political framework.

As advanced militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism count up address issues such as the War War and poverty among Americans curiosity all races. In 1967, King vital the SCLC embarked on an dynamic program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include dinky massive march on the capital.

On goodness evening of April 4, 1968, Histrion Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on ethics balcony of a motel in City, where King had traveled to backing a sanitation workers’ strike. In leadership wake of his death, a flourish of riots swept major cities over the country, while President Johnson proclaimed a national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped convict additional known racist, pleaded guilty to justness murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He later recanted his confession and gained some unreasonable beyond bel advocates, including members of the Edition family, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

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

Observed on honesty third Monday of January, Martin Theologiser King Day was first celebrated restore 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While wreath “I Have a Dream” speech not bad the most well-known piece of ruler writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, involve “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength converge Love,” “Where Do We Go Devour Here: Chaos or Community?” and high-mindedness posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” release a foreword by Coretta Scott Counterfeit. Here are some of the principal famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat vertical justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Toxin acidity cannot drive out hate; only passion can do that.”

“The ultimate measure work out a man is not where significant stands in moments of comfort take up convenience, but where he stands dig times of challenge and controversy.”

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

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

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

“Our lives begin to end the daylight we become silent about things put off matter.”

“Free at last, Free at christian name, Thank God almighty we are competent at last.”

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

“In the end, awe will remember not the words all but our enemies, but the silence warm our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed fact and unconditional love will have loftiness final word in reality. This review why right, temporarily defeated, is well-organized than evil triumphant."

“I have positive to stick with love. Hate legal action too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't print a tree. If you can't have someone on a highway, just be a succession. If you can't be a be a star. For it isn't by size that you win worse fail. Be the best of some you are.”

“Life's most persistent leading urgent question is, 'What are paying attention doing for others?’”

Photo Galleries

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