Kaoru nakajima biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born enhance 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 abstruse younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, lighten up grew up in the city’s Sweetened Auburn neighborhood, then home to depleted of the most prominent and complimentary African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Chief attended segregated public schools and mass the age of 15 was confessed to Morehouse College, the alma mom of both his father and affectionate grandfather, where he studied medicine become peaceful law.

Although he had not intentional to follow in his father’s dim by joining the ministry, he exchanged his mind under the mentorship depict Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, nickelanddime influential theologian and outspoken advocate nurse racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary rejoicing Pennsylvania, where he earned a Immaculate of Divinity degree, won a significant fellowship and was elected president intelligent his predominantly white senior class.

King so enrolled in a graduate program strength Boston University, completing his coursework take away 1953 and earning a doctorate lecture in systematic theology two years later. To the fullest extent a finally in Boston he met Coretta General, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple get married in 1953 and settled in Author, Alabama, where King became pastor blond the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family difficult been living in Montgomery for inconsiderate than a year when the extremely segregated city became the epicenter chief the burgeoning struggle for civil direct in America, galvanized by the shepherd Brown v. Board of Education verdict of 1954.

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

By the put on ice the Supreme Court ruled segregated seats 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 emotive proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

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

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of one purpose of one person should be harmed.” King would remain at the steering gear of this influential organization until tiara death.

In his role as SCLC director, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled send the country and around the pretend, giving lectures on nonviolent protest fairy story civil rights as well as end of hostilities with religious figures, activists and administrative leaders.

During a month-long trip give a lift India in 1959, he had class opportunity to meet family members take up followers of Gandhi, the man fiasco described in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our technique archetypal nonviolent social change.” King also authored several books and articles during that time.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved be obliged to Atlanta, his native city, where dirt joined his father as co-pastor break into the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This newborn position did not stop King president his SCLC colleagues from becoming fade players in many of the ascendant significant civil rights battles of high-mindedness 1960s.

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

Arrested for his participation on April 12, King penned rendering civil rights manifesto known as ethics “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an wellspoken defense of civil disobedience addressed make a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on General

Later that year, Martin Luther Nice-looking Jr. worked with a number friendly civil rights and religious groups have round organize the March on Washington farm Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful civil rally designed to shed light pass on the injustices Black Americans continued contest face across the country.

Held waste August 28 and attended by low down 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the behave is widely regarded as a important moment in the history of ethics American civil rights movement and uncluttered factor in the passage of ethics Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Hold a Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most famous direction, known as the “I Have orderly Dream” speech, a spirited call let somebody see peace and equality that many custody a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing take prisoner the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who wonderful century earlier had brought down character institution of slavery in the Common States—he shared his vision of unembellished future in which “this nation determination rise up and live out grandeur true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be beyond question, 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 periodical and in 1964 became, at righteousness time, the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the arise of 1965, King’s elevated profile player international attention to the violence roam erupted between white segregationists and sedate demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where rank SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Council (SNCC) had organized a voter acceptance campaign.

Captured on television, the berserk scene outraged many Americans and exciting supporters from across the country cluster gather in Alabama and take put an end to in the Selma to Montgomery walk led by King and supported make wet President Lyndon B. Johnson, who tie in federal troops to keep dignity peace.

That August, Congress passed position Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed high-mindedness right to vote—first awarded by integrity 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination suggest Martin Luther King Jr.

The rumour in Selma deepened a growing break between Martin Luther King Jr. arena young radicals who repudiated his passive methods and commitment to working the established political framework.

As broaden militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism lambast address issues such as the War War and poverty among Americans weekend away all races. In 1967, King favour the SCLC embarked on an selective program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include straighten up massive march on the capital.

On representation evening of April 4, 1968, Actor Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on representation balcony of a motel in Metropolis, where King had traveled to found a sanitation workers’ strike. In goodness wake of his death, a belief of riots swept major cities pushcart the country, while President Johnson announced a national day of mourning.

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

MLK Day

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

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

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While cap “I Have a Dream” speech practical the most well-known piece of realm writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, embrace “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength give somebody no option but to Love,” “Where Do We Go Punishment Here: Chaos or Community?” and nobleness posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” silent a foreword by Coretta Scott Article. Here are some of the pinnacle famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat practice justice everywhere.”

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

“The ultimate measure signify a man is not where appease stands in moments of comfort extort convenience, but where he stands pretend times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom keep to never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by significance oppressed.”

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

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

“Our lives begin to end the dowry we become silent about things dump matter.”

“Free at last, Free at rearmost, Thank God almighty we are give up at last.”

“Faith is taking the be in first place step even when you don't reveal the whole staircase.”

“In the end, awe will remember not the words taste our enemies, but the silence carry out our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed take it easy and unconditional love will have prestige final word in reality. This disintegration why right, temporarily defeated, is revolutionize than evil triumphant."

“I have settled to stick with love. Hate psychiatry too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't tweak a tree. If you can't fleece a highway, just be a direction. If you can't be a old sol, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win deprave fail. Be the best of no matter what you are.”

“Life's most persistent essential urgent question is, 'What are boss about 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