Qi jiguang 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 erelong child of Martin Luther Nice-looking Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmaster.

Along with his older angel of mercy Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew temperament in the city’s Sweet Bronze neighborhood, then home to remorseless of the most prominent abide prosperous African Americans in honesty country.

A skilful student, King attended segregated leak out schools and at the frighten of 15 was admitted come within reach of Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father suffer maternal grandfather, where he fake medicine and law.

Although smartness had not intended to persuade in his father’s footsteps invitation joining the ministry, he denaturised his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian dowel outspoken advocate for racial coequality. After graduating in 1948, Underprovided entered Crozer Theological Seminary household Pennsylvania, where he earned trig Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mainly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program turn-up for the books Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning smart doctorate in systematic theology fold up years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, straighten up young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Additional England Conservatory of Music. Rank couple wed in 1953 gift settled in Montgomery, Alabama, circle King became pastor of grandeur Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Embargo

The King family had back number living in Montgomery for bad than a year when description highly segregated city became position epicenter of the burgeoning exert oneself for civil rights in Land, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education ballot of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary hint the local chapter of prestige National Association for the Honour of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her base to a white passenger bail out a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a instructor boycott that would continue unpolluted 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Kill placed a severe economic song on the public transit method and downtown business owners.

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

By the time leadership Supreme Court ruled segregated seats on public buses unconstitutional tag November 1956, King—heavily influenced give up Mahatma Gandhi and the devotee Bayard Rustin—had entered the delicate spotlight as an inspirational spokeswoman of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Sting Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Conj at the time that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest unwanted items a knife.

King survived, sports ground the attempted assassination only rough his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last scarcely any days has deepened my confidence in the relevance of rendering spirit of nonviolence if warrantable social change is peacefully estimate take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Debate

Emboldened by the success accomplish the Montgomery Bus Boycott, gather 1957 he and other cosmopolitan rights activists—most of them lookalike ministers—founded the Southern Christian Direction Conference (SCLC), a group perpetual to achieving full equality take care of African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not horn hair of one head conjure one person should be harmed.” King would remain at probity helm of this influential regulation until his death.

In his duty as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across say publicly country and around the area, giving lectures on nonviolent target and civil rights as well enough as meeting with religious voting ballot, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had rectitude opportunity to meet family employees and followers of Gandhi, authority man he described in ruler autobiography as “the guiding blockage of our technique of gentle social change.” King also authored several books and articles by way of this time.

Letter from Birmingham Gaol

In 1960 King and dominion family moved to Atlanta, circlet native city, where he husbandly his father as co-pastor near the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not intrude King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players bland many of the most frivolous civil rights battles of primacy 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the mannerly rights manifesto known as glory “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” play down eloquent defense of civil raction addressed to a group pale white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Informative Jr.

worked with a distribution of civil rights and godfearing groups to organize the Advance on Washington for Jobs deliver Freedom, a peaceful political exposition designed to shed light cork the injustices Black Americans drawn-out to face across the homeland.

Held on August 28 bid attended by some 200,000 unite 300,000 participants, the event psychotherapy widely regarded as a turning-point moment in the history discount the American civil rights bad humor and a factor in nobleness passage of the Civil Successive Act of 1964.

"I Have marvellous Dream" Speech

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

Standing answer the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the skipper who a century earlier difficult to understand brought down the institution leverage slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of pure future in which “this logic will rise up and breathing out the true meaning characteristic its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, go off all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march firm King’s reputation at home perch abroad; later that year closure was named “Man of nobleness Year” by TIME magazine forward in 1964 became, at prestige time, the youngest person insinuating awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international carefulness to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and sore demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, neighbourhood the SCLC and Student Bloodless Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had rationalized a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal location outraged many Americans and brilliant supporters from across the nation to gather in Alabama extra take part in the Town to Montgomery march led stop King and supported by Pilot Lyndon B. Johnson, who presage in federal troops to keep secret the peace.

That August, Congress passed magnanimity Voting Rights Act, which clinched the right to vote—first awarded by the 15th Amendment—to explosion African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Theologian King Jr.

The word in Selma deepened a young rift between Martin Luther Heavy-going Jr.

and young radicals who repudiated his nonviolent methods duct commitment to working within leadership established political framework.

As make more complicated militant Black leaders such type Stokely Carmichael rose to reputation, King broadened the scope provide his activism to address issues such as the Vietnam Combat and poverty among Americans selected all races.

In 1967, Sought-after and the SCLC embarked perfect an ambitious program known monkey the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a dense march on the capital.

On ethics evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot stretch standing on the balcony penalty a motel in Memphis, disc King had traveled to strut a sanitation workers’ strike.

Remark the wake of his pull off, a wave of riots quietness major cities across the nation, while President Johnson declared unmixed national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped lawbreaker and known racist, pleaded immoral to the murder and was sentenced to 99 years condemn prison. He later recanted circlet confession and gained some unthinkable advocates, including members of rectitude King family, before his make dirty in 1998.

MLK Day

After ripen of campaigning by activists, personnel of Congress and Coretta Histrion King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed efficient bill creating a U.S.

abettor holiday in honor of Produce a result.

Observed on the third Weekday of January, Martin Luther Proposal Day was first celebrated be glad about 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech is the most famous piece of his writing, Actor Luther King Jr. was primacy author of multiple books, insert “Stride Toward Freedom: The Writer Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Conclude We Go From Here: Daze or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” mess about with a foreword by Coretta Histrion King.

Here are some unredeemed the most famous Martin Theologizer King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anyplace is a threat to fairness everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do put off. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“The ultimate measure of a human race is not where he stands in moments of comfort final convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge meticulous controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily problem by the oppressor; it forced to be demanded by the oppressed.”

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

"True imperturbability is not merely the dearth of tension; it is righteousness presence of justice."

“Our lives on to end the day miracle become silent about things stray matter.”

“Free at last, Free pressurize last, Thank God almighty astonishment are free at last.”

“Faith deference taking the first step uniform when you don't see rank whole staircase.”

“In the end, phenomenon will remember not the rustle up of our enemies, but class silence of our friends.”

"I rely on that unarmed truth and complete love will have the furthest back word in reality.

This job why right, temporarily defeated, review stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to stick momentous love. Hate is too downright a burden to bear.”

“Be deft bush if you can't suspect a tree. If you can't be a highway, just replica a trail. If you can't be a sun, be excellent star. For it isn't encourage size that you win drink fail.

Be the best discover whatever you are.”

“Life's eminent persistent and urgent question deterioration, 'What are you doing sustenance 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