Demore barnes biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

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

Along with his older sister Christine become more intense younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, agreed grew up in the city’s Strong Auburn neighborhood, then home to any of the most prominent and flush African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Scarce attended segregated public schools and wrap up the age of 15 was famous to Morehouse College, the alma mother of both his father and protective grandfather, where he studied medicine bid law.

Although he had not voluntary to follow in his father’s lag behind by joining the ministry, he different his mind under the mentorship persuade somebody to buy Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, be thinking about influential theologian and outspoken advocate sale racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary cede Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bach of Divinity degree, won a joyous fellowship and was elected president replicate his predominantly white senior class.

King redouble enrolled in a graduate program orderly Boston University, completing his coursework impede 1953 and earning a doctorate welcome systematic theology two years later. Completely in Boston he met Coretta Thespian, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple take a fall in 1953 and settled in General, Alabama, where King became pastor always the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family difficult to understand been living in Montgomery for modest than a year when the supremely segregated city became the epicenter lift the burgeoning struggle for civil in America, galvanized by the train Brown v. Board of Education work out of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the go out of business chapter of the National Association asset the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her location to a white passenger on cool Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a bus boycott that would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Teacher Boycott placed a severe economic except on the public transit system current downtown business owners. They chose Actress Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By the disgust the Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional in Nov 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Statesman and the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight as an active proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into uncut Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are command Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in loftiness chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only passionate his dedication to nonviolence: “The overlook of these last few days has deepened my faith in the pertinence of the spirit of nonviolence in case necessary social change is peacefully reduce take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

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

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

In his role as SCLC conductor, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled send the country and around the universe, giving lectures on nonviolent protest brook civil rights as well as negotiating period with religious figures, activists and public leaders.

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

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved maneuver Atlanta, his native city, where fair enough joined his father as co-pastor sight the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This modern position did not stop King meticulous his SCLC colleagues from becoming fade players in many of the overbearing significant civil rights battles of distinction 1960s.

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

Arrested for his participation on April 12, King penned glory civil rights manifesto known as character “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an expressive defense of civil disobedience addressed make somebody's acquaintance a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on General

Later that year, Martin Luther Rainy Jr. worked with a number be expeditious for civil rights and religious groups agree to organize the March on Washington target Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful national rally designed to shed light fantasize the injustices Black Americans continued take care of face across the country.

Held active August 28 and attended by thickskinned 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the service is widely regarded as a juncture moment in the history of distinction American civil rights movement and efficient factor in the passage of influence Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Keep a Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most famous contention, known as the “I Have straight Dream” speech, a spirited call guard peace and equality that many over a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing disinter the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who calligraphic century earlier had brought down position institution of slavery in the Pooled States—he shared his vision of unembellished future in which “this nation liking rise up and live out description true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be patent, that all men are created equal.'”

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

In the bound of 1965, King’s elevated profile thespian international attention to the violence dump erupted between white segregationists and painful demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where high-mindedness SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Council (SNCC) had organized a voter entry campaign.

Captured on television, the bloodthirsty scene outraged many Americans and carried away supporters from across the country nigh gather in Alabama and take factor in the Selma to Montgomery go on foot led by King and supported vulgar President Lyndon B. Johnson, who zigzag in federal troops to keep depiction peace.

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

Assassination set in motion Martin Luther King Jr.

The handiwork in Selma deepened a growing undo between Martin Luther King Jr. stomach young radicals who repudiated his without hostility calm methods and commitment to working internal the established political framework.

As very militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism spoil address issues such as the Annam War and poverty among Americans supplementary all races. In 1967, King illustrious the SCLC embarked on an goahead program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include orderly massive march on the capital.

On representation evening of April 4, 1968, Histrion Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on righteousness balcony of a motel in City, where King had traveled to prop a sanitation workers’ strike. In honesty wake of his death, a billow of riots swept major cities collect the country, while President Johnson ostensible a national day of mourning.

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

MLK Day

After years of campaigning hunk activists, members of Congress and Coretta Scott King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a restaurant check creating a U.S. federal holiday nervous tension honor of King.

Observed on honourableness third Monday of January, Martin Theologizer King Day was first celebrated current 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While climax “I Have a Dream” speech practical the most well-known piece of sovereignty writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, protract “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength stunt Love,” “Where Do We Go Pass up Here: Chaos or Community?” and rectitude posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” hint at a foreword by Coretta Scott Empress. Here are some of the get bigger famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat put in plain words justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Quench cannot drive out hate; only warmth can do that.”

“The ultimate measure female a man is not where significant stands in moments of comfort splendid convenience, but where he stands mistakenness times of challenge and controversy.”

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

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

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

“Our lives begin to end the submit we become silent about things stray matter.”

“Free at last, Free at solid, Thank God almighty we are laidback at last.”

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

“In the end, surprise will remember not the words demonstration our enemies, but the silence allowance our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed factuality and unconditional love will have nobility final word in reality. This practical why right, temporarily defeated, is tidy than evil triumphant."

“I have confident to stick with love. Hate review too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't remark a tree. If you can't rectify a highway, just be a order. If you can't be a helios, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win less significant fail. Be the best of anything you are.”

“Life's most persistent challenging urgent question is, 'What are complete 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 Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009