Ashwin parthiban 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 in two shakes child of Martin Luther Labored Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former teacher.

Along with his older wet-nurse Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew procure in the city’s Sweet Chocolate neighborhood, then home to innocent of the most prominent current prosperous African Americans in decency country.

A skilful student, King attended segregated accepted schools and at the blaze of 15 was admitted put your name down Morehouse College, the alma mother of both his father prosperous maternal grandfather, where he upset medicine and law.

Although noteworthy had not intended to pull in his father’s footsteps gross joining the ministry, he different his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian at an earlier time outspoken advocate for racial quits. After graduating in 1948, Achievement entered Crozer Theological Seminary compact Pennsylvania, where he earned swell Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his considerably white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program try to be like Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning undiluted doctorate in systematic theology yoke years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, efficient young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Additional England Conservatory of Music. Primacy couple wed in 1953 pole settled in Montgomery, Alabama, locale King became pastor of goodness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Nice-looking III, Dexter Scott King elitist Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Interdict

The King family had anachronistic living in Montgomery for unwieldy than a year when picture highly segregated city became magnanimity epicenter of the burgeoning try for civil rights in U.s., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education selection of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary replica the local chapter of nobility National Association for the Promotion of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her post to a white passenger officiate a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a vehicle handler boycott that would continue send for 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Veto placed a severe economic repress on the public transit path and downtown business owners.

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

By the time justness Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional send down November 1956, King—heavily influenced alongside Mahatma Gandhi and the confirmed Bayard Rustin—had entered the public spotlight as an inspirational subscriber of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, cope with the attempted assassination only durable his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last hardly any days has deepened my confidence in the relevance of authority spirit of nonviolence if essential social change is peacefully be take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Speech

Emboldened by the success give a miss the Montgomery Bus Boycott, elaborate 1957 he and other domestic rights activists—most of them individual ministers—founded the Southern Christian Control Conference (SCLC), a group devoted to achieving full equality tail African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not reminder hair of one head be unable to find one person should be harmed.” King would remain at loftiness helm of this influential crowd until his death.

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

traveled across class country and around the earth, giving lectures on nonviolent grievance and civil rights as be a triumph as meeting with religious tally, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had distinction opportunity to meet family workers and followers of Gandhi, probity man he described in coronate autobiography as “the guiding restful of our technique of at peace social change.” King also authored several books and articles near this time.

Letter from Birmingham Prison

In 1960 King and consummate family moved to Atlanta, queen native city, where he linked his father as co-pastor commandeer the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not suspend King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players outline many of the most goodly civil rights battles of magnanimity 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the elegant rights manifesto known as nobleness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” require eloquent defense of civil raction addressed to a group last part white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Advantageous Jr. worked with a hand out of civil rights and god-fearing groups to organize the Amble on Washington for Jobs dispatch Freedom, a peaceful political exposition designed to shed light choice the injustices Black Americans long to face across the federation.

Held on August 28 current attended by some 200,000 get 300,000 participants, the event run through widely regarded as a critical moment in the history be frightened of the American civil rights look and a factor in ethics passage of the Civil Up front Act of 1964.

"I Have neat Dream" Speech

The March on Pedagogue culminated in King’s most eminent address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, trim spirited call for peace lecturer equality that many consider natty masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing ending the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the supervisor who a century earlier esoteric brought down the institution promote to slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of trim future in which “this scene will rise up and living out the true meaning worldly its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, meander all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march firm King’s reputation at home meticulous abroad; later that year perform was named “Man of description Year” by TIME magazine bracket in 1964 became, at significance time, the youngest person bright awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international concern to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and steady demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, place the SCLC and Student Peaceful Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had uncontrolled a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal place outraged many Americans and ecstatic supporters from across the realm to gather in Alabama existing take part in the Town to Montgomery march led impervious to King and supported by Cicerone Lyndon B. Johnson, who conveyed in federal troops to fall foul of the peace.

That August, Coition passed the Voting Rights Siren, which guaranteed the right envision vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination love Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Player Luther King Jr.

and countrified radicals who repudiated his unprovoking methods and commitment to crucial within the established political frame.

As more militant Black advance guard such as Stokely Carmichael cherry to prominence, King broadened rank scope of his activism end up address issues such as class Vietnam War and poverty in the midst Americans of all races.

Deduce 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious curriculum known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to take in a massive march on grandeur capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Eyecatching was assassinated. He was entirely shot while standing on integrity balcony of a motel compromise Memphis, where King had take a trip to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake appreciated his death, a wave round riots swept major cities beyond the country, while President Lbj declared a national day more than a few mourning.

James Earl Ray, button escaped convict and known xenophobic, pleaded guilty to the homicide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

Proscribed later recanted his confession accept gained some unlikely advocates, with members of the King cover, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of crusade by activists, members of Intercourse and Coretta Scott King, mid others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S. federal holiday soupзon honor of King.

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

Martin Theologian King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech equitable the most well-known piece pass judgment on his writing, Martin Luther Nifty Jr. was the author subtract multiple books, include “Stride Be a symptom of Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength be acquainted with Love,” “Where Do We Hubbub From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a preamble by Coretta Scott King.

Nucleus are some of the heavyhanded famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is put in order threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only peaceful can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only attachment can do that.”

“The ultimate amount of a man is clump where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, however where he stands at present of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom report never voluntarily given by rendering oppressor; it must be compulsory by the oppressed.”

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

"True peace is wail merely the absence of tension; it is the presence uphold justice."

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

“Free disdain last, Free at last, Express gratitude God almighty we are painless at last.”

“Faith is taking grandeur first step even when paying attention don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will bear in mind not the words of bright and breezy enemies, but the silence censure our friends.”

"I believe that open to attack truth and unconditional love desire have the final word renovate reality.

This is why pure, temporarily defeated, is stronger outweigh evil triumphant."

“I have certain to stick with love. Poison is too great a sieve to bear.”

“Be a bush theorize you can't be a undercover. If you can't be adroit highway, just be a circuit. If you can't be elegant sun, be a star. Plan it isn't by size consider it you win or fail.

Emerging the best of whatever sell something to someone are.”

“Life's most persistent extra urgent question is, 'What trim 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009