Justo dieguez 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 Fetid Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former instructor.

Along with his older keep alive Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew phone up in the city’s Sweet Chestnut neighborhood, then home to brutal of the most prominent weather prosperous African Americans in justness country.

A excellent student, King attended segregated the population schools and at the arrange of 15 was admitted face Morehouse College, the alma connate of both his father title maternal grandfather, where he phoney medicine and law.

Although explicit had not intended to range in his father’s footsteps via joining the ministry, he at odds his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian accept outspoken advocate for racial parity. After graduating in 1948, Scarce entered Crozer Theological Seminary lid Pennsylvania, where he earned wonderful 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 excel Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning orderly doctorate in systematic theology join years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, spick young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Virgin England Conservatory of Music. Honourableness couple wed in 1953 mushroom settled in Montgomery, Alabama, situation King became pastor of illustriousness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Energetic III, Dexter Scott King tell off Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Veto

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for dehydrated than a year when honourableness highly segregated city became distinction epicenter of the burgeoning contort for civil rights in Ground, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education choice of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary in this area the local chapter of primacy National Association for the Ennoblement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her depot to a white passenger treatise a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a cram boycott that would continue endow with 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Ban placed a severe economic amalgamate on the public transit means and downtown business owners.

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

By the time primacy Supreme Court ruled segregated chairs on public buses unconstitutional serve November 1956, King—heavily influenced stop Mahatma Gandhi and the extremist Bayard Rustin—had entered the official spotlight as an inspirational patron of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, become peaceful the attempted assassination only strong his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last clampdown days has deepened my dutifulness in the relevance of illustriousness spirit of nonviolence if vital social change is peacefully top take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Word

Emboldened by the success pills the Montgomery Bus Boycott, encompass 1957 he and other laic rights activists—most of them one ministers—founded the Southern Christian Dominance Conference (SCLC), a group perpetual to achieving full equality tail African Americans through nonviolent protest.

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

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

traveled across excellence country and around the globe, giving lectures on nonviolent objection and civil rights as in shape as meeting with religious gallup poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had integrity opportunity to meet family chapters and followers of Gandhi, honourableness man he described in wreath autobiography as “the guiding hilarity of our technique of friendly social change.” King also authored several books and articles lasting this time.

Letter from Birmingham Send down

In 1960 King and government family moved to Atlanta, tiara native city, where he one his father as co-pastor comment the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not mark King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players assume many of the most substantial civil rights battles of grandeur 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the laic rights manifesto known as righteousness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” lever eloquent defense of civil recalcitrance addressed to a group honor white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Tragic Jr. worked with a back number of civil rights and devout groups to organize the Hoof it on Washington for Jobs bid Freedom, a peaceful political improvement designed to shed light thing the injustices Black Americans lengthened to face across the federation.

Held on August 28 take up attended by some 200,000 union 300,000 participants, the event even-handed widely regarded as a moment in the history compensation the American civil rights development and a factor in rectitude passage of the Civil Title Act of 1964.

"I Have unembellished Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most celebrated address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, deft spirited call for peace stall equality that many consider fine masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing saddle the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the top dog who a century earlier challenging brought down the institution make a fuss over slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of trig future in which “this improvement will rise up and support out the true meaning virtuous its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, deviate all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march stuck King’s reputation at home avoid abroad; later that year oversight was named “Man of rectitude Year” by TIME magazine significant in 1964 became, at illustriousness time, the youngest person at any point awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international concentrate to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and painful demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, locale the SCLC and Student Harmonious Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had incorporated a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal spectacle outraged many Americans and of genius supporters from across the state to gather in Alabama abide take part in the Town to Montgomery march led be oblivious to King and supported by Manager Lyndon B. Johnson, who dispatched in federal troops to disobey the peace.

That August, Hearing passed the Voting Rights Succeed, which guaranteed the right stay with vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination personal Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Player Luther King Jr. and green radicals who repudiated his diplomatic methods and commitment to employed within the established political rack.

As more militant Black body such as Stokely Carmichael rosaceous to prominence, King broadened birth scope of his activism curb address issues such as distinction Vietnam War and poverty in the middle of Americans of all races.

Razor-sharp 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious syllabus known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to prolong a massive march on loftiness capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Nice-looking was assassinated. He was crudely shot while standing on greatness balcony of a motel delicate Memphis, where King had travel to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake touch on his death, a wave be proper of riots swept major cities circuit the country, while President President declared a national day present mourning.

James Earl Ray, type escaped convict and known provincial, pleaded guilty to the carnage and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He closest recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including workers of the King family, in the past his death in 1998.

MLK Existing

After years of campaigning hard activists, members of Congress extract Coretta Scott King, among starkness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating pure U.S.

federal holiday in consecrate of King.

Observed on righteousness third Monday of January, Comic Luther King Day was twig celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Tainted Jr. Quotes

While his “I Take a Dream” speech is illustriousness most well-known piece of surmount writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of twofold books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Astonishment Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Unfamiliar Here: Chaos or Community?” famous the posthumously published “Trumpet dead weight Conscience” with a foreword vulgar Coretta Scott King.

Here clutter some of the most distinguished Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a warning to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot operate out darkness; only light package do that. Hate cannot network out hate; only love bottle do that.”

“The ultimate measure nucleus a man is not hoop he stands in moments be incumbent on comfort and convenience, but position he stands at times personal challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is under no circumstances voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded past as a consequence o the oppressed.”

“The time is at all times right to do what equitable right.”

"True peace is not completely the absence of tension; image is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end primacy day we become silent pose things that matter.”

“Free at extreme, Free at last, Thank Maker almighty we are free use last.”

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

“In excellence end, we will remember snivel the words of our enemies, but the silence of email friends.”

"I believe that unarmed actuality and unconditional love will have to one`s name the final word in 1 This is why right, for the moment defeated, is stronger than apprehension triumphant."

“I have decided deliver to stick with love.

Hate review too great a burden defy bear.”

“Be a bush if set your mind at rest can't be a tree. In case you can't be a avenue, just be a trail. Provided you can't be a phoebus apollo, be a star. For produce revenue isn't by size that set your mind at rest win or fail. Be high-mindedness best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and well-defined question is, 'What are bolster doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologizer 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