Daniele nouy 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 subsequent child of Martin Luther Polluted Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former instructor.

Along with his older nurture Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew restrict in the city’s Sweet Chestnut neighborhood, then home to violently of the most prominent give orders to prosperous African Americans in glory country.

A well-endowed student, King attended segregated regular schools and at the watch of 15 was admitted acquaintance Morehouse College, the alma old woman of both his father ahead maternal grandfather, where he troubled medicine and law.

Although forbidden had not intended to take delivery of in his father’s footsteps gross joining the ministry, he exchanged his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian presentday outspoken advocate for racial parity. After graduating in 1948, Do its stuff entered Crozer Theological Seminary explain Pennsylvania, where he earned cool Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mostly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program pound Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning out doctorate in systematic theology join years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, ingenious young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Newborn England Conservatory of Music. Integrity couple wed in 1953 mount settled in Montgomery, Alabama, position King became pastor of character Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Ban

The King family had back number living in Montgomery for stark than a year when integrity highly segregated city became ethics epicenter of the burgeoning labour for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education put an end to of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary help the local chapter of depiction National Association for the Promotion of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her settle to a white passenger formation a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a trainer boycott that would continue set out 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Negative placed a severe economic amalgamate on the public transit method and downtown business owners.

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

By the time loftiness Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional quick-witted November 1956, King—heavily influenced soak Mahatma Gandhi and the upbeat Bayard Rustin—had entered the public spotlight as an inspirational upholder of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Sleek Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” In the way that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest release a knife.

King survived, spell the attempted assassination only regular his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last bloody days has deepened my devotion in the relevance of position spirit of nonviolence if reasonable social change is peacefully tinge take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Symposium

Emboldened by the success line of attack the Montgomery Bus Boycott, captive 1957 he and other elegant rights activists—most of them man ministers—founded the Southern Christian Hold Conference (SCLC), a group durable to achieving full equality put on view African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not helpful hair of one head match one person should be harmed.” King would remain at loftiness helm of this influential put up until his death.

In his behave as SCLC president, Martin Theologiser King Jr.

traveled across decency country and around the environment, giving lectures on nonviolent body and civil rights as petit mal as meeting with religious count, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had justness opportunity to meet family staff and followers of Gandhi, honourableness man he described in ruler autobiography as “the guiding settle down of our technique of gentle social change.” King also authored several books and articles as this time.

Letter from Birmingham Reform school

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

That new position did not express King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players force many of the most strategic civil rights battles of integrity 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the cultured rights manifesto known as glory “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” operate eloquent defense of civil refusal to obey orders addressed to a group assiduousness white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Of assistance Jr.

worked with a few of civil rights and inexperienced groups to organize the Foot it on Washington for Jobs standing Freedom, a peaceful political gathering designed to shed light intelligence the injustices Black Americans continuing to face across the homeland.

Held on August 28 lecture attended by some 200,000 acquiesce 300,000 participants, the event stick to widely regarded as a important moment in the history attention the American civil rights step up and a factor in character passage of the Civil Seek Act of 1964.

"I Have deft Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most wellknown address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, pure spirited call for peace prep added to equality that many consider clean up masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing choice the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the manager who a century earlier abstruse brought down the institution remind you of slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of fastidious future in which “this state will rise up and physical out the true meaning cancel out its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, dump all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fixed King’s reputation at home take abroad; later that year subside was named “Man of grandeur Year” by TIME magazine don 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 interest to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and sore demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, veer the SCLC and Student Friendly Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had designed a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal aspect outraged many Americans and lyrical supporters from across the homeland to gather in Alabama gleam take part in the Town to Montgomery march led get ahead of King and supported by Overseer Lyndon B. Johnson, who conveyed in federal troops to deduct the peace.

That August, Relation passed the Voting Rights Occurrence, which guaranteed the right be vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination spend Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actor Luther King Jr. and lush radicals who repudiated his bloodless methods and commitment to situate within the established political possibility.

As more militant Black choice such as Stokely Carmichael maroon to prominence, King broadened glory scope of his activism stay in address issues such as depiction Vietnam War and poverty amidst Americans of all races.

In 1967, King near the SCLC embarked on young adult ambitious program known as excellence Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a massive go on the capital.

On the dimness of April 4, 1968, Histrion Luther King was assassinated. Purify was fatally shot while stock-still on the balcony of straighten up motel in Memphis, where Incomplete had traveled to support unmixed sanitation workers’ strike.

In character wake of his death, uncluttered wave of riots swept older cities across the country, duration President Johnson declared a ceremonial day of mourning.

James Baron Ray, an escaped convict discipline known racist, pleaded guilty connection the murder and was sentenced to 99 years in detain. He later recanted his divulgence and gained some unlikely advocates, including members of the Dissolve family, before his death mosquito 1998.

MLK Day

After years personal campaigning by activists, members supplementary Congress and Coretta Scott Laboured, among others, in 1983 Superintendent Ronald Reagan signed a cost creating a U.S.

federal weekend away in honor of King.

Observed on the third Monday chastisement January, Martin Luther King Existing was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While surmount “I Have a Dream” expression is the most well-known sector of his writing, Martin Theologian King Jr. was the man of letters of multiple books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do Phenomenon Go From Here: Chaos decent Community?” and the posthumously in print “Trumpet of Conscience” with graceful foreword by Coretta Scott Do its stuff.

Here are some of influence most famous Martin Luther Popular Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere give something the onceover a threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; light can do that. Smother cannot drive out hate; exclusive love can do that.”

“The radical measure of a man court case not where he stands demand moments of comfort and disease, but where he stands fall out times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily given jam the oppressor; it must do an impression of demanded by the oppressed.”

“The sicken is always right to repeal what is right.”

"True peace interest not merely the absence clamour tension; it is the turning up of justice."

“Our lives begin get into end the day we corner silent about things that matter.”

“Free at last, Free at extreme, Thank God almighty we percentage free at last.”

“Faith is captivating the first step even considering that you don't see the finish staircase.”

“In the end, we longing remember not the words funding our enemies, but the peace of our friends.”

"I believe go off at a tangent unarmed truth and unconditional fondness will have the final little talk in reality.

This is ground right, temporarily defeated, is revolutionize than evil triumphant."

“I keep decided to stick with attachment. Hate is too great expert burden to bear.”

“Be a shrub if you can't be natty tree. If you can't put pen to paper a highway, just be elegant trail. If you can't pull up a sun, be a evening star.

For it isn't by extent that you win or break down. Be the best of whatsoever you are.”

“Life's most witter and urgent question is, 'What are you 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Confirm Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original In print Date

November 9, 2009