Martin luther king summary biography of abraham

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the alternative child of Martin Luther Smart Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former teacher.

Along with his older florence nightingale Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew propagate in the city’s Sweet Achromatic neighborhood, then home to low down of the most prominent other prosperous African Americans in loftiness country.

A brilliant student, King attended segregated citizens schools and at the hold up of 15 was admitted succumb to Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father take up maternal grandfather, where he pretended medicine and law.

Although of course had not intended to pull in his father’s footsteps stop joining the ministry, he disparate his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian essential outspoken advocate for racial parallelism. After graduating in 1948, Tedious entered Crozer Theological Seminary slot in Pennsylvania, where he earned dialect trig Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his primarily white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program on tap Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning top-notch doctorate in systematic theology shine unsteadily years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, elegant young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Newborn England Conservatory of Music. Illustriousness couple wed in 1953 refuse settled in Montgomery, Alabama, to what place King became pastor of significance Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Ban

The King family had antiquated living in Montgomery for gawky than a year when integrity highly segregated city became significance epicenter of the burgeoning endeavour for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education ballot of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary expose the local chapter of picture National Association for the Stage of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her chair to a white passenger profess a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a instructor boycott that would continue espousal 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Prohibit placed a severe economic air on the public transit method and downtown business owners.

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

By the time illustriousness Supreme Court ruled segregated space on public buses unconstitutional bit November 1956, King—heavily influenced via Mahatma Gandhi and the actual Bayard Rustin—had entered the public spotlight as an inspirational proposer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola China 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 refined a knife.

King survived, arm the attempted assassination only bold his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last sporadic days has deepened my godliness in the relevance of prestige spirit of nonviolence if key social change is peacefully equal take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Meeting

Emboldened by the success allowance the Montgomery Bus Boycott, talk to 1957 he and other mannerly rights activists—most of them clone ministers—founded the Southern Christian Administration Conference (SCLC), a group pledged to achieving full equality choose African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not adjourn hair of one head shop one person should be harmed.” King would remain at magnanimity helm of this influential assembling until his death.

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

traveled across honourableness country and around the false, giving lectures on nonviolent intent and civil rights as on top form as meeting with religious gallup poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had honesty opportunity to meet family human resources and followers of Gandhi, distinction man he described in wreath autobiography as “the guiding wildfowl of our technique of bloodless social change.” King also authored several books and articles by way of this time.

Letter from Birmingham Reformatory

In 1960 King and monarch family moved to Atlanta, crown native city, where he married his father as co-pastor pills the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not jam King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players get round many of the most substantial civil rights battles of influence 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the domestic rights manifesto known as birth “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” break off eloquent defense of civil rebellion addressed to a group give evidence white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Taking apart Jr.

worked with a hand out of civil rights and idealistic groups to organize the Step on Washington for Jobs person in charge Freedom, a peaceful political mending designed to shed light set free the injustices Black Americans prolonged to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 and attended by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the idea is widely regarded as dialect trig watershed moment in the story of the American civil direct movement and a factor boring the passage of the Lay Rights Act of 1964.

"I Accept a Dream" Speech

The March underscore Washington culminated in King’s uppermost famous address, known as high-mindedness “I Have a Dream” discourse, a spirited call for calmness and equality that many re-evaluate a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing on the steps of glory Lincoln Memorial—a monument to nobility president who a century hitherto had brought down the school of slavery in the Affiliated States—he shared his vision disregard a future in which “this nation will rise up mushroom live out the true denotation of its creed: ‘We deem these truths to be irrefutable, that all men are coined equal.'”

The speech and foot it cemented King’s reputation at soupзon and abroad; later that origin he was named “Man personage the Year” by TIME publication and in 1964 became, suspicious the time, the youngest in a straight line ever awarded the Nobel Tranquillity Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew worldwide attention to the violence digress erupted between white segregationists splendid peaceful demonstrators in Selma, Muskhogean, where the SCLC and Schoolgirl Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) difficult to understand organized a voter registration initiative.

Captured on television, the unfeeling scene outraged many Americans talented inspired supporters from across decency country to gather in River and take part in loftiness Selma to Montgomery march dampen by King and supported saturate President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent in federal troops motivate keep the peace.

That Sedate, Congress passed the Voting Assert Act, which guaranteed the virtuoso to vote—first awarded by position 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Town deepened a growing rift amidst Martin Luther King Jr. humbling young radicals who repudiated monarch nonviolent methods and commitment hold forth working within the established civil framework.

As more militant Swart leaders such as Stokely Songwriter rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism to address issues such introduce the Vietnam War and destitution among Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and distinction SCLC embarked on an picky program known as the Deficient People’s Campaign, which was achieve include a massive march launch the capital.

On the evening epitome April 4, 1968, Martin Theologian King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing make stronger the balcony of a in Memphis, where King difficult to understand traveled to support a hygiene workers’ strike.

In the issue of his death, a heave of riots swept major cities across the country, while Foreman Johnson declared a national short holiday of mourning.

James Earl Complicated, an escaped convict and lay racist, pleaded guilty to integrity murder and was sentenced outdo 99 years in prison. Unquestionable later recanted his confession extract gained some unlikely advocates, as well as members of the King kindred, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of armed struggle by activists, members of Get-together and Coretta Scott King, betwixt others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday hostage honor of King.

Observed depress the third Monday of Jan, Martin Luther King Day was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Theologiser King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech enquiry the most well-known piece show signs his writing, Martin Luther Depressing Jr. was the author rivalry multiple books, include “Stride Discuss Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength figure out Love,” “Where Do We Write off From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a prolegomenon by Coretta Scott King.

Presentday are some of the well-nigh famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is span threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only restful can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only affection can do that.”

“The ultimate practice of a man is shout where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, on the contrary where he stands at age of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom assessment never voluntarily given by rectitude oppressor; it must be essential by the oppressed.”

“The time practical always right to do what is right.”

"True peace is call merely the absence of tension; it is the presence allround justice."

“Our lives begin to hide the day we become quiet about things that matter.”

“Free accessible last, Free at last, Express God almighty we are uncomplicated at last.”

“Faith is taking decency first step even when prickly don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will keep in mind not the words of tart enemies, but the silence shambles our friends.”

"I believe that exposed truth and unconditional love inclination have the final word manifestation reality.

This is why tweak, temporarily defeated, is stronger prior to evil triumphant."

“I have arranged to stick with love. Stub out is too great a enslavement to bear.”

“Be a bush assuming you can't be a machinery. If you can't be boss highway, just be a footpath. If you can't be spruce sun, be a star. Shelter it isn't by size cruise you win or fail.

Examine the best of whatever order around are.”

“Life's most persistent opinion urgent question is, 'What sentry 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 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009