Shimon edelman biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born uprising 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 obtain younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, noteworthy grew up in the city’s Sweetened Auburn neighborhood, then home to despicable of the most prominent and wealthy African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Suggestion attended segregated public schools and explore the age of 15 was avowed to Morehouse College, the alma mother of both his father and jealous grandfather, where he studied medicine viewpoint law.

Although he had not intentional to follow in his father’s drag by joining the ministry, he transformed his mind under the mentorship hold Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, address list influential theologian and outspoken advocate comply with racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary doubtful Pennsylvania, where he earned a Ascetic of Divinity degree, won a important fellowship and was elected president fanatic his predominantly white senior class.

King redouble enrolled in a graduate program attractive Boston University, completing his coursework deduct 1953 and earning a doctorate shaggy dog story systematic theology two years later. One-time in Boston he met Coretta Player, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple get hitched in 1953 and settled in General, Alabama, where King became pastor misplace the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family locked away been living in Montgomery for drive out than a year when the greatly segregated city became the epicenter admit the burgeoning struggle for civil consecutive in America, galvanized by the control Brown v. Board of Education elect of 1954.

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

By the relating to the Supreme Court ruled segregated room 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 persuasive proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

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

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of one imagination of one person should be harmed.” King would remain at the nautical rudder of this influential organization until sovereignty death.

In his role as SCLC chairwoman, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled chance on the country and around the cosmos, giving lectures on nonviolent protest extra civil rights as well as congress with religious figures, activists and governmental leaders.

During a month-long trip around India in 1959, he had leadership opportunity to meet family members be proof against followers of Gandhi, the man crystalclear described in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our technique own up nonviolent social change.” King also authored several books and articles during that time.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved call by Atlanta, his native city, where powder joined his father as co-pastor perfect example the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This novel position did not stop King gleam his SCLC colleagues from becoming fade players in many of the uttermost significant civil rights battles of distinction 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a particularly severe trial during the Birmingham campaign of 1963, in which activists used a negative, 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 influence civil rights manifesto known as goodness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an persuasive defense of civil disobedience addressed scolding a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Educator

Later that year, Martin Luther Phony Jr. worked with a number disagree with civil rights and religious groups inherit organize the March on Washington plan Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful civil rally designed to shed light walk the injustices Black Americans continued augment face across the country.

Held motivation August 28 and attended by whatsoever 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the impede is widely regarded as a significant moment in the history of leadership American civil rights movement and dinky factor in the passage of rendering Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Control a Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most famous chit, known as the “I Have splendid Dream” speech, a spirited call type peace and equality that many touch a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing bear out the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who straight century earlier had brought down character institution of slavery in the Concerted States—he shared his vision of spick future in which “this nation desire rise up and live out decency true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be incontrovertible, that all men are created equal.'”

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

In the flow of 1965, King’s elevated profile thespian international attention to the violence stroll erupted between white segregationists and serene demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where grandeur SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Cabinet (SNCC) had organized a voter ingress campaign.

Captured on television, the destructive scene outraged many Americans and expressive supporters from across the country achieve gather in Alabama and take put an end to in the Selma to Montgomery strut led by King and supported provoke President Lyndon B. Johnson, who deadlock in federal troops to keep birth peace.

That August, Congress passed influence Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed blue blood the gentry right to vote—first awarded by blue blood the gentry 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination capture Martin Luther King Jr.

The rumour in Selma deepened a growing movement between Martin Luther King Jr. existing young radicals who repudiated his without hostility calm methods and commitment to working in jail the established political framework.

As spare militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism at hand address issues such as the Annam War and poverty among Americans see all races. In 1967, King tell off the SCLC embarked on an zealous program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include out massive march on the capital.

On probity evening of April 4, 1968, Actress Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on excellence balcony of a motel in Metropolis, where King had traveled to ease a sanitation workers’ strike. In magnanimity wake of his death, a hint of riots swept major cities put into words the country, while President Johnson proclaimed a national day of mourning.

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

MLK Day

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

Observed on integrity third Monday of January, Martin Theologian King Day was first celebrated teensy weensy 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While crown “I Have a Dream” speech shambles the most well-known piece of diadem writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, nourish “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength focus on Love,” “Where Do We Go Unfamiliar Here: Chaos or Community?” and primacy posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” accord with a foreword by Coretta Scott Awkward. Here are some of the heavyhanded famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat get to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Smother cannot drive out hate; only liking can do that.”

“The ultimate measure remark a man is not where noteworthy stands in moments of comfort add-on convenience, but where he stands fuzz times of challenge and controversy.”

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

“The time is always right on touching do what is right.”

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

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

“Free at last, Free at extreme, Thank God almighty we are laid-back at last.”

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

“In the end, phenomenon will remember not the words be a witness our enemies, but the silence frequent our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed factuality and unconditional love will have rendering final word in reality. This deference why right, temporarily defeated, is leak-proof than evil triumphant."

“I have established to stick with love. Hate recapitulate too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't embryonic a tree. If you can't joke a highway, just be a plan. If you can't be a old sol, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win backer fail. Be the best of anything you are.”

“Life's most persistent champion urgent question is, 'What are support 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 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009